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Italy General Election 2022: Exit Poll Shows Victory For Far-Right – Live https://digitalarkansasnews.com/italy-general-election-2022-exit-poll-shows-victory-for-far-right-live/ Clear victory for rightwing coalition, exit poll indicates OK, the first exit poll is in, and it’s good news for Giorgia Meloni and the far-right Brothers of Italy. According to the Consorzio Opinio Italia poll for Rai, the rightwing coalition has won between 41-45% of the vote and the left alliance 25-29.%. That would give the right a majority in both houses. At this point we should make our regular health warning: Italian exit polls have a very chequered history, and are sometimes wrong. It’s well worth waiting for the projections to come. “,”elementId”:”19ddc501-0b08-41a6-a73b-459dc2a28e1d”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:” n It’s going to be a long night, but I want to say THANK YOU n “,”elementId”:”f8981e5a-0140-437a-8f53-97777d269f38″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement”,”html”:” Centrodestra in netto vantaggio sia alla Camera che al Senato!Sarà una lunga notte, ma già ora vi voglio dire GRAZIE — Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) September 25, 2022 n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/matteosalvinimi/status/1574145464114778112?s=20&t=b4laokh2gUQRMldLa-LADA”,”id”:”1574145464114778112″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”8de9f66e-ff28-41dc-9771-13daee8fc966″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1664142010000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”17.40 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1664142166000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”17.42 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1664142166000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”17.42 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”17.42″,”title”:”Salvini: rightwing alliance has a “clear advantage””,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 25 Sep 2022 17.59 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 25 Sep 2022 14.00 EDT”},{“id”:”6330c6738f0822acf24f6937″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:” To breakdown those exit poll results in full… “,”elementId”:”079ab85c-8d98-4f52-80f5-9e13d0f5faf0″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:” In total the rightwing alliance is set to win between 41 and 45% of the vote. “,”elementId”:”aeb91d9a-6887-4d9c-83a9-daf025fcd9dd”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:” Meloni’s Brothers of Italy are on course to win 22-26%, Salvini’s Lega between 8.5% and 12.5%, and Berlusconi’s Forza Italia a very modest 6-8%. (That is why Meloni is the clear frontrunner for prime minister.) “,”elementId”:”c4ca0512-c1a0-4258-8562-1ed8784369d6″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:” The centre-left, if this exit poll proves right, is on course to garner between 17 and 21% of the vote – not so far behind the Brothers of Italy. But their alliance partners are smaller. “,”elementId”:”8b51030f-6764-4e4c-8cd0-9641da617478″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:” The combined forces of Matteo Renzi and Carlo Calenda’s parties have managed between 6.5% and 8.5%, according to the exit poll. “,”elementId”:”7abaef41-2c58-4969-8b6f-ce352b063ea7″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:” And the Five Star Movement, which pulled the plug on Mario Draghi’s government? Between 13.5% and 17.5%. “,”elementId”:”9a02f479-fc5e-4bb2-b6e8-039f2ea2a15b”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1664140915000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”17.21 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1664141306000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”17.28 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1664141197000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”17.26 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”17.26″,”title”:”Exit poll results in full”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 25 Sep 2022 17.59 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 25 Sep 2022 14.00 EDT”},{“id”:”6330c1838f0891514fe7c29f”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:” OK, the first exit poll is in, and it’s good news for Giorgia Meloni and the far-right Brothers of Italy. “,”elementId”:”5acb600e-627b-4fd4-8419-bc69b77546d3″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:” According to the Consorzio Opinio Italia poll for Rai, the rightwing coalition has won between 41-45% of the vote and the left alliance 25-29.%. That would give the right a majority in both houses. “,”elementId”:”965af595-baa3-4d40-9fc0-62b32bb122bc”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:” At this point we should make our regular health warning: Italian exit polls have a very chequered history, and are sometimes wrong. It’s well worth waiting for the projections to come. “,”elementId”:”7d96589a-134b-4672-910e-03350a4ccb36″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:” “,”elementId”:”417c03c1-ccc6-427e-8457-64a2f0c53062″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:true,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1664139651000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”17.00 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1664140180000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”17.09 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1664140005000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”17.06 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”17.06″,”title”:”Clear victory for rightwing coalition, exit poll indicates”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 25 Sep 2022 17.59 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 25 Sep 2022 14.00 EDT”},{“id”:”6330bd9d8f0891514fe7c28b”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“height”:”2101″,”width”:”3500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/3bda7249415268d8daa1b285186341d272b2bb92/0_232_3500_2101/3500.jpg”},{“index”:1,”fields”:{“isMaster”:”true”,”height”:”2101″,”width”:”3500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/3bda7249415268d8daa1b285186341d272b2bb92/0_232_3500_2101/master/3500.jpg”},{“index”:2,”fields”:{“height”:”1200″,”width”:”2000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/3bda7249415268d8daa1b285186341d272b2bb92/0_232_3500_2101/2000.jpg”},{“index”:3,”fields”:{“height”:”600″,”width”:”1000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/3bda7249415268d8daa1b285186341d272b2bb92/0_232_3500_2101/1000.jpg”},{“index”:4,”fields”:{“height”:”300″,”width”:”500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/3bda7249415268d8daa1b285186341d272b2bb92/0_232_3500_2101/500.jpg”},{“index”:5,”fields”:{“height”:”84″,”width”:”140″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/3bda7249415268d8daa1b285186341d272b2bb92/0_232_3500_2101/140.jpg”}]},”data”:{“alt”:”Giorgia Meloni votes at a polling station in Rome. “,”caption”:”Giorgia Meloni votes at a polling station in Rome. “,”credit”:”Photograph: Yara 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Bucs-Packers, Open Thread – JoeBucsFan.com https://digitalarkansasnews.com/bucs-packers-open-thread-joebucsfan-com/ Rod Munch Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:17 pm Breaking news: Bucs signing Randy Moss and Jerry Rice. SB~LV Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:17 pm Glad we don’t have Jameis Dewey Selmon Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:21 pm The beer is cold and the joints are rolled. Go Bucs!!! SB~LV Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:21 pm Lovie Smith is building on his coaching legacy… BucsBro Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:23 pm Saints are trash. Love to see it. Bills, Chiefs also looking mortal. Sign up, Gronk. We can get that ring. Then you can retire for good. PassingThru Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:23 pm LFG! Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:23 pm Defense better show up today. Offense has to be sharp as well. Protection. Try and establish a running game. unbelievable Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:24 pm Amen Dewey! Having to resort to other means to watch myself, since San Diego is getting screwed over and forced to watch the Lame Arse Rams. Alvin Scissors Harper Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:24 pm I don’t know who is gonna catch the ball today for our Bucs, but it has gotta be somebody! Leighroy Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:24 pm Who bought these guys their suits, Jacobim Mugatu? Armybucfan Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:25 pm Rod I would take moss and rice even at their ages over what we have right now in our receiver CORPSE. LOL Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:28 pm Gotta finish drives man. Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:29 pm Ridiculous. Can’t get a damn yard. PassingThru Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:30 pm Kyle Rudolph! When was he signed? DoooshLaRue Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:30 pm Good play calling so far.. Let’s punch it in. PassingThru Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:31 pm Where the Bucs are vulnerable is in the red zone. Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:31 pm Go downfield!! HC Grover Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:32 pm Red Zone Blues Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:32 pm Can’t finish drives. Smh Iamabuc Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:32 pm Omg!…first two plays to ghosts in our roster and we are rolling!!..LFG!!! PassingThru Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:32 pm Just a lack of red zone weapons made worse by Evans absence. unbelievable Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:32 pm Moving the ball nicely but dang they blew up that screen pass! DoooshLaRue Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:32 pm Damn Brady. cmurda Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:32 pm Shaq Mason blew up the red zone series. He has to be better than that. Over committing to the initial less important block. I’ll take the field goal though on a nice long drive. unbelievable Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:33 pm Ugh cmon Brady you falling down from someone breathing on you now?!? Throw the damn ball! Iistnfrmafar Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:34 pm Mason makes that block on the screen Lenny goes to the house. unbelievable Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:34 pm ^ yup. Mason had been okay but nothing special so far IMO. Jeagan1999 Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:34 pm 3-0…. Nice start! Keep it rolling and crush the Pack! LETS GO! rrsrq Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:34 pm Can we pleeeezzzzzeeee stop getting stuck in the red zone. But I like the screen pass try Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:35 pm Is Scotty Miller playing today? Dude needs to step up. D-Rok Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:36 pm Let’s just sign some guy and 2 days later throw him a 4th down completion, shall we? LOL 3 zip. GO BUCS!!! Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:37 pm Need to stop those plays. D-Rok Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:37 pm SCREENS! I got my wish but Mason didn’t do a great job. Let’s see a few more, Bucs. HC Grover Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:37 pm Plan 9 George Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:37 pm Beasely and Rudolph nice contribution first series Rod Munch Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:37 pm We’re starting Nacho on defense? Really? Sign Suh already. Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:37 pm Come on defense. Need better than this. Jeagan1999 Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:38 pm I think Beasley will make Miller an afterthought! Prediction….Beasley catches 8 for 84 yards and a score. Miller5252 Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:38 pm Our short yard offense sucks. Gotta get TD’s instead of FG. The D better stop the run today. If we can do it, the secondary will shut down the Packers WR unbelievable Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:38 pm Told y’all run defense was gonna get tested today. Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:38 pm This defense might make the packers rookie wideouts look like stars. unbelievable Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:38 pm And by “tested”, I mean “exposed” DoooshLaRue Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:39 pm Carlton Davis Shut down corner. Rod Munch Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:39 pm Just remember that Rodgers looked great in 2020, until didn’t. He made one mistake then completely feel apart. He’s a quitter, so just hit him, and he’ll quit. Show Me the TDs Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:39 pm How about some run defense. unbelievable Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:40 pm @Rod – I agree. IF we can get some pressure on him… DoooshLaRue Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:40 pm Carlton Davis Elite Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:40 pm This is soft defense!!!!! Pathetic. Leighroy Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:40 pm What kind of angle is that D white!?? August 1976 Buc Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:41 pm soft coverage crap LVMYBUCS Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:41 pm Davis playing scared/soft Rod Munch Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:41 pm Wasn’t Davis. White overran it, took out Davis. BigZ Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:42 pm JTS has no power or pass rush moves. unbelievable Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:42 pm Devin White abs Carlton Davis just got embarrassed. HC Grover Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:42 pm D is lost in space. BitcoinTom Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:43 pm Best defense my ass hahagaha cmurda Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:43 pm One day Devin White looks amazing and then there is this guy that puts himself out of position. We cannot tackle. Running against us and short passes are just too easily the gameplan. Come on defense. That ain’t gonna cut it. Devin has to be good at tackling in this game and so far has missed lots of them. Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:43 pm Lol this packers offense is green. Such a pathetic start by this defense . Rod Munch Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:43 pm That was fu–ing offensive pass interfernce if I’ve ever seen it. Holy s—. D-Rok Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:43 pm Rats. HC Grover Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:43 pm Plan 9 is a lightweight. Iistnfrmafar Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:43 pm White and secondary doing what they do. Today you face a real QB. August 1976 Buc Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:43 pm paddy cake defense, get some stones Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:43 pm Bucs have to respond. That was pathetic. unbelievable Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:44 pm EMBARRASSING Biff Barker Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:44 pm Jane Tryon is a bust. Weakling not too bright either. Jeagan1999 Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:44 pm Not unlike our D to give up an early score and then settle down and get after the QB! Here we go! BomTrady Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:44 pm With 6 starters out on offense it is doubtful we have the fire power to outscore the Packers today so it could be a frustrating day George Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:44 pm Defense can’t stop Rodgers Austin Lewis Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:44 pm Press! Get in their faces! Smother them! RuKa_44 Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:44 pm Can someone send a memo to Carlton Davis telling him “THE GAME HAS STATED”? Thanks unbelievable Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:44 pm Devin White is good at blitzing. That’s it. He’s a liability in the pass game and his tackling is sub par. Rod Munch Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:45 pm Holy s—, if Evans touches a defender it’s offensive PI, here you have a guy blocking downfield before the ball is even thrown, and it’s a good play. Typical BS officiating. Where is Evans? Have him come out on the field and beat up the refs. Devinwhiteshorse2 Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:45 pm What is going on defense!?!?! Francisco Guzman Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:45 pm They’re facing a better QB but this packers offense is transition. That was a joke what this defense came up with in that first drive. George Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:45 pm Should bring in JTS replacements Kansas95Buc Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:45 pm It’s 60 minutes of football, some of yall need to relax lol Biff Barker Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:45 pm Yes. D needs to settle down. O needs points. Yucs2Bucs Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:45 pm AR is going to have a field day with our D !!! Oh man cmurda Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:45 pm That drive is on White all day. Time to coach him up. I have confidence in him but if the defense doesn’t come to play, this is going to be a beatdown. Our O Line looks scary. The D needs to be way way better than that. Ugly looking play from a defense that is supposed to be disciplined. Arn platz Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:45 pm This game is going to be UIGGLLY Iistnfrmafar Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:45 pm How is Nunez playing more snaps than Vea. Cchead Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:45 pm Tryon sucks Kody Says: September 25th, 2022 at 4:46 pm WELL THAT...

Arkansas Storm Team Forecast: Get Ready For The Coldest Temperatures Since April https://digitalarkansasnews.com/arkansas-storm-team-forecast-get-ready-for-the-coldest-temperatures-since-april/ MONDAY: Monday morning will be our first crisp morning since the brief taste of fall we saw two weeks ago. Most Arkansans will wake up to temperatures in the 50s and warm into the 80s. Low humidity and mostly sunny skies will make for very comfortable weather. There will be a breezy northwest wind of around 10 mph. TUESDAY: Cooler air will continue to blow into Arkansas. The morning temperatures will be the coolest since spring in the upper 40s and low 50s. The afternoon will feature sunny skies and highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. WEDNESDAY: Temperatures continue to cool into Wednesday. The morning will start in the low 50s and highs will stay in the 70s for most Arkansans. Sunny skies with a breezy northeast wind of around 10 mph. EXTENDED OUTLOOK: Our cooling trend will continue into Thursday. That’s when I think Little Rock could see its first 40° temperature since April 27th! By next weekend we will see temperatures warm back up into the mid 80s for highs. Enjoy the incoming cooler weather! – Meteorologist Alex Libby Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! STAY INFORMED: Download the Arkansas Storm Team app  To make sure you are staying up-to-date with the forecast, download the Arkansas Storm Team app to get updates anywhere at any time.  To watch the latest video updates from the Arkansas Storm Team, you can check them out here. KARK WEATHER FOX16 WEATHER The Arkansas Storm Team is a collaboration of two stations to bring you the largest weather team in the state when covering Arkansas weather. Read More…

Giorgia Meloni And Her Far-Right Brothers Of Italy Party Top Vote In Italian Elections, Exit Poll Shows https://digitalarkansasnews.com/giorgia-meloni-and-her-far-right-brothers-of-italy-party-top-vote-in-italian-elections-exit-poll-shows/ The political leader of the Brothers Of Italy, Giorgia Meloni. Marco Cantile | Lightrocket | Getty Images Italians are on course to elect the country’s first female prime minister and the first government led by the far-right since the end of World War II. Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) party are set to gain 22.5% to 26.5% of the vote, according to an exit poll late Sunday night. The party is in a broad right-wing coalition with Lega, under Matteo Salvini, Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and a more minor coalition partner, Noi Moderati. This alliance is set to win 41% to 45% of the vote, according to exit polls, enough to gain a parliamentary majority with the center-left bloc on 22.5% to 26.5%. Early projections from the actual election results are due Monday morning. Reaching political consensus and cementing a coalition could take weeks and a new government may only come to power in October. But the vote could mark a big political shift for a pivotal European country dealing with ongoing economic and political instability. Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party was created in 2012, but has its roots in Italy’s 20th century neo-fascist movement that emerged after the death of fascist leader Benito Mussolini in 1945. A 2019 speech from Meloni helped her become a household name when an unsuspecting DJ remixed her words (“I am Giorgia, I am a woman, I am a mother, I am Italian, I am Christian”) into a dance music track, which went viral. After winning 4% of the vote in 2018′s election, Brothers of Italy and 45-year-old Meloni used their position in opposition to springboard into the mainstream. Meloni has taken great measures to appeal to a more moderate center-right majority in Italian society and claims to have rid her party of fascist elements. Incumbent Mario Draghi, a much-loved technocrat who was forced out by political infighting in July, is still in power in a caretaker role. The snap election on Sunday in the EU’s third-largest economy comes six months before they were due to be held. The election is being closely watched in Brussels as the European region deals with the war in Ukraine, an energy crisis and rocketing inflation. Brothers of Italy has reversed its opposition to the euro, but champions reform of the EU in order to make it less bureaucratic and less influential on domestic policy. On an economic level, it has deferred to the center-right coalition’s position that the next government should cut sales taxes on certain goods to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis, and has said Italy should renegotiate its Covid-19 recovery funds with the EU. The party has been pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine and supports sanctions against Russia. Politicians from the center-left fear relations with the rest of Europe would change under a Meloni-led government. Enrico Letta, the head of the Democratic Party, told CNBC earlier this month that Italy had two options when it came to Europe — staying in the top tier of economies and governance, or being “relegated.” ″[The] first option is to keep our position in ‘first division.’ First division means Brussels and Germany, France, Spain, the big European countries, the founders, like us. [The] second option is to be relegated in the second division with Poland and Hungary, deciding to stay with them against Brussels, against Berlin, against Paris and Madrid,” he said during the Ambrosetti economic forum in early September. “I think it would be a disaster for Italy to choose the second division,” he said. —CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this article. Read More Here

Neman: Why Lambert Airport Scored Poorly On A National Survey https://digitalarkansasnews.com/neman-why-lambert-airport-scored-poorly-on-a-national-survey/ To be honest, the news was not much of a surprise. On Wednesday, J.D. Power released its annual survey of travelers’ attitudes toward U.S. and Canadian airports. Most airports fared worse this year than last, but St. Louis Lambert International Airport did even worse than most. Lambert landed 23rd on the list of 27 airports of its size — between 10 million and 32.9 million passengers a year. The difference, according to Michael Taylor, an analyst at J.D. Power specializing in travel, hospitality and retail, is investment. Airports that have spent up to multiple billions of dollars on improvements tended to score well. Lambert has not done so yet, but it does have a plan to make changes in the future. Before the coronavirus pandemic, Lambert saw about 16 million passengers, according to an open house presentation held in May. By 2040, it expects to see 21 million passengers, give or take a million. So the problems with crowds — and waits, and lines, and parking — will only get worse unless the airport can expand. A master plan for the airport currently proposes adding space onto what is now Terminal 1 to create a single, greatly expanded location for all flights, including at least 10 new gates. Other proposed changes include wider concourses, an improved security checkpoint, a less confusing system of roads into the airport and more. At a presentation held in May to discuss this plan, representatives of the airport acknowledged problems with crowds — and waits, and lines, and parking. And they pointed out some unique logistical challenges in dealing with these issues. Interstate 70 runs just in front of the airport, which makes expansion to the south impossible. And access could be improved by moving service roads, but any changes would have to be carefully planned to avoid adversely affecting nearby communities. The airport has done enough of that in the past. Which is presumably why it is trying so hard not to do it again now. The survey asked more than 26,000 travelers to rate the airports they had been to in the last 30 days. The six categories they were to make their ratings on, in descending order of importance, were terminal facilities, airport arrival and departure, baggage claim, security check, check-in and baggage check, and food, beverage and retail options. Lambert scored in the bottom one-third or one-quarter in each of the categories. Taylor said that travelers’ expectations for airports have changed. Airports used to be merely functional, places where people would go to get onto or off from an airplane. But now, he said, they are more of a destination in themselves. With increased delays and longer waits to make connections, travelers are spending more time in airports and would like them to be more pleasant. Airports that score well in satisfaction surveys tend to be open and airy, he said. They are more like a mall. They have a large selection of food and beverage choices, along with retail stores for varied interests. Ideally, he said, airports should have a mix of popular national chain restaurants (Lambert has a Burger King, a California Pizza Kitchen and a Chili’s, but no McDonald’s or KFC) and local restaurants to give the airport a local identity. That is where Lambert actually does well, I told him. Though the airport does not have as many places to eat as some others, most of the restaurants are local: The Pasta House, Mike Shannon’s Grill, Three Kings (and its Mexican offshoot, Tres Reyes), Schlafly, Urban Chestnut, several Anheuser-Busch places and more. But to people who don’t live here, none of these speaks especially of St. Louis. You can get crab cakes in Baltimore and barbecue in Dallas. But only St. Louisans know what it means to get an order of toasted ravioli at the airport Pasta House. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Read More Here

Democrats In Florida Seek To Win Over Latinos On Gun Control https://digitalarkansasnews.com/democrats-in-florida-seek-to-win-over-latinos-on-gun-control/ MIAMI (AP) — Annette Taddeo walked to a podium overlooking Miami’s Biscayne Bay and described to her audience how she had fled terrorism as a teenager in Colombia and now feared for the safety of her 16-year-old daughter at an American public school. A blue and bright orange bus behind the Democratic congressional candidate carried this message in Spanish: “A future without violence.” “Latinos are here because of the American dream, and it is really hard to do that when you are worried about your kids’ safety,” said Taddeo, a state senator who is challenging a Republican congresswoman, María Elvira Salazar. Few places disappointed Democrats in 2020 as deeply as South Florida. A shift among Latinos toward the GOP contributed to several unexpected losses in House races and helped then-President Donald Trump carry Florida by more than 3 percentage points. Democrats are campaigning differently this year as they aim to connect the party’s priorities to the personal experiences of a group that often feels overlooked in national politics. Florida Sen. Annette Taddeo speaks at the kick off of the Giffords Florida bus tour, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, in Miami. Giffords Florida was launched by Giffords, the national gun violence prevention organization led by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, in support of Florida candidates to end gun violence. Taddeo is challenging U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican, in the midterm elections. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Lynne Sladky Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., walks next to a bus at the kick off of the Giffords Florida bus tour, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, in Miami. Giffords Florida was launched by Giffords, the national gun violence prevention organization led by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, in support of Florida candidates to end gun violence. Democrats in Florida are trying to make inroads firing up Latino voters on gun safety. Demings is running against Republican Senator Marco Rubio in the midterm elections. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Lynne Sladky Politicians speak alongside a bus at the kick off of the Giffords Florida bus tour, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, in Miami. Giffords Florida was launched by Giffords, the national gun violence prevention organization led by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, in support of Florida candidates to end gun violence. Democrats in Florida are trying to make inroads firing up Latino voters on gun safety. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Lynne Sladky PreviousNext The effort comes at a volatile moment for Latinos in Florida. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has attracted national attention to immigration after arranging to fly a group of Venezuelans from Texas to Massachusetts’ Martha’s Vineyard as part of a state-funded relocation program for migrants who are in the country illegally. While some Venezuelans and Latinos affiliated with the Democratic party have condemned it as a “cruel stunt,” some exiles applauded DeSantis’ actions. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a Cuban American, wrote a column in Spanish for a conservative online platform seemingly taking DeSantis’ side by raising concerns that migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico could be criminals freed by Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Gun violence, meantime, is a particularly powerful issue in Florida, where two of the deadliest mass shootings in recent years have occurred. Spanish-language media have given wide coverage both to the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, a predominantly Hispanic area, and to the penalty trial of the shooter who attacked a high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. In an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in June, 35% of Latinos named gun issues in an open-ended question allowing people to identify up to five issues for the government to be working on in the next year. That compared with 18% in late 2021 and 10% in 2020. “This topic has risen in the consciousness of the Latino community,” said Stephen Nuño-Perez, a pollster analyst at BSP Research firm who researches concerns among Latino voters for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Education Fund. A gun control group founded by former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a 2011 shooting in Tucson that killed six and injured more than a dozen, chose Florida for a state-specific initiative and selected a slate of candidates to support. The Giffords political committee gave $15,500 to more than three dozen Latino candidates around the country, and the group has so far invested $1 million in Florida this cycle. In Texas, ads and billboards have taken on Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, using remarks he made at one of the news conferences after the Robb Elementary school shooting in his state, when he said it “could have been worse” while initially praising the law enforcement response to the shooting. Later it was revealed that nearly 400 law enforcement officers on the scene waited outside more than an hour before the 18-year-old gunman was shot to death inside a classroom. “It’s a kitchen-table issue,” said Peter Ambler, executive director of Giffords, the gun control group. “We think we have a real opportunity, specifically in Florida, where there have been so many high-profile, tragic acts of gun violence, where there is such an epidemic of gun violence, to really shift votes.” Gun violence is killing an increasing number of children in the United States, with 1,562 deaths among those 17 or younger in 2021, according to the website Gun Violence Archive, which tracks shootings from more than 7,500 law enforcement, media, government and commercial sources. Even though Latin American countries have tough gun restrictions, gun death rates are high as a result of gang violence, which is fueled by illegal firearm trafficking. For some Cubans, though, gun control is off the table. Isabel Caballero, a 96-year-old Cuban woman, said she would not support any gun restrictions. In the years after Fidel Castro and his rebels toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, Cubans were encouraged to register weapons and later authorities used a list to go door-to-door encouraging people to turn over the firearms. “‘Guns, What for?’ That’s what he used to say. People turned them over, and then the only people who had guns were them,” Caballero said of Castro and his allies. “Lesson? Do not let them go.” But other Cubans who had arrived later in Miami said they were more willing to support a change, saying they thought it was not right for children to be afraid at school. “You can find guns everywhere, any place. You have $400 and you can get it. It shouldn’t be like this,” said Amauris Puebla, who came from Cuba in 1994. Puebla was playing a game at the Domino Park on a recent morning in Little Havana when Taddeo and Rep. Val Demings, the Democrat challenging Rubio for the Senate, made a stop on the gun safety tour bus. Demings asked him if she could play. She won. ___ Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter, https://twitter.com/ap_politics Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. For Related Stories: gun control Read More Here

The ‘Dr. Copper And Fearful Gold’ Indicator Says It’s A ‘stellar’ Time To Buy Stocks https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-dr-copper-and-fearful-gold-indicator-says-its-a-stellar-time-to-buy-stocks/ Marcio Silva/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The “Dr. Copper and Fearful Gold” indicator is pointing to rising investor confidence and “stellar” stock-market returns ahead, Leuthold Group Chief Investment Strategist James Paulsen says. Paulsen wrote in a recent note that the indicator, which measures the ratio of copper prices (HG1:COM) to gold prices (XAUUSD:CUR), serves as a good proxy for investor sentiment thanks to what each metal’s value signifies about the economy. He said copper prices (HG1:COM) historically represent a leading economic indicator, as many industries use the metal in production. By contrast, gold prices (XAUUSD:CUR) typically go up when investors fear high inflation, recession or excessive market volatility, Paulsen said. As a result, “the ratio of those two prices is a good gauge of relative confidence in the future vs. fear – or, essentially, stock-market conviction.” Paulsen wrote. Right now, the Dr. Copper and Fearful Gold indicator is sitting at just its 13th percentile when measured in historic terms stretching back to 1990: Paulsen said that means “the comparative cheapness of confidence to fear” is lower than it’s been 87% of the time over the past 32 years. “Outside of the 2009 market bottom, the pre-Trump election low in 2016 and the pandemic trough, confidence has never been any cheaper vs. fear than now,” he wrote. “When the copper/gold ratio has been in its lower quartile (like today), forward stock market returns were stellar.” Paulsen said that since 1990, the S&P 500 (SPY) has risen at a 21% annualized rate over the next month any time the indicator has been at its 25th percentile or lower, as it is today. By contrast, the blue chips only gained a 5.3% average annualized rate of return in months when the index sits above the 25th percentile mark: As for downside risk, Paulsen wrote that the S&P 500 (SPY) historically declined just 28.6% of the time over the coming month at any time when the Dr. Copper and Fearful Gold indicator was in its bottom quartile. By contrast, the blue chips have had a 38.8% chance of declines when the indicator sits above its 25th percentile mark. “Historically, when confidence has been this cheap compared to fear, it proved to be an excellent time to buy the stock market,” the economist said. “Excessive fear and extreme undervaluation of confidence have historically tended to brighten the outlook for stocks.” Popular gold ETFs include the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), the iShares Gold Trust ETF (IAU) and the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX). Popular copper ETFs: The United States Copper Index Fund (CPER) and the iPath Series B Bloomberg Copper Subindex Total Return ETN (JJC). For more macro market analysis, click here. Read More Here

Would You Still Buy A Tesla? – The Big Picture https://digitalarkansasnews.com/would-you-still-buy-a-tesla-the-big-picture/ Note: This Bob Lefsetz piece is from earlier this year; I have been waiting to see how the Twitter deal might progress or unravel. Since there’s been real news recently on the litigation, it was high time to share this. (His reader pushback is here)  Personally, I have not ruled out a Tesla, but I also prefer EVs like the Taycan or the Mach E.  Regardless, this is thought provoking. Enkoy “Elon Musk says he would reverse Twitter’s Trump ban“ Don’t buy a new gasoline car unless you’re planning to get rid of it in just a few years, which is kind of dumb, because then you’re eating the depreciation. But if you hold on any longer, the value of a gasoline automobile will sink to nearly zero. What is your 35mm camera worth today? The whole world is going electric, especially in China and Europe, the way things are going the USA will no longer be number one in so many categories. As for all the b.s. from “patriots” talking about how people are desirous of immigrating into the country…a true patriot would talk about solidifying systems, making America more just, but that doesn’t seem to be their goal. So a car is one of the few signifiers we still have left. We all use the same smartphone, most youngsters don’t even bother with a watch, how are you going to evidence your identity in today’s world? Well, mostly on social media. But in the real world, it’s still about a car. And if you want to show you’re cutting edge, you drive an electric one, and Tesla dominates that sphere. Now let’s be clear, electric automobiles were first embraced by the left. The “coastal elites.” They wanted to show they cared about climate change, the planet. They put up with inferior workmanship just to demonstrate their bona fides. As for the right? Holman Jenkins and the rest of his knee-jerk Republicans in the “Wall Street Journal” have not stopped decrying electric automobiles, endlessly bitching about subsidies, the lack of profit if clean air credits weren’t sold. They want the past to endure. They want jobs to maintain. They want the right to drive a bigger and bigger SUV, hopefully a Suburban, or maybe a full-sized pickup truck. That’s freedom according to them. As for the planet? Those they hate in Silicon Valley will come up with a solution or God will intervene, it’s not worth worrying about. As for the science? There are no facts in America anymore, didn’t you hear? So, Tesla has burgeoned on the good will, the purchases of the educated classes, wanting to make a statement, raving about their automobiles, spreading the word. But now what are you going to say? I don’t care if you’re left or right, what you believe in, but when a giant corporation, publicly traded, alienates its base…that’s a problem. I used to be a fan of Elon Musk, no longer. The guy is irrational, and he believes the rules don’t apply to him. And he acts like he’s the only one who owns the truth, who can move us into the future, and that’s just hogwash. As for Twitter… Twitter is not a newspaper. It’s not even a television station. Twitter only works if it’s agnostic, if it’s the place everybody goes. Just ask Donald Trump and Devin Nunes, who left Congress to run Truth Social. It’s got no traction. Forget that platforms are hard to build, it’s nearly impossible to build traffic unless you’re a first mover or you’re significantly better than the established outfit, neither of which Truth Social is. We’ve learned that online one company dominates in every sphere. Amazon in retail… Especially when it’s consumer facing and depends on traffic. So, do people on the left need to be on Twitter? Probably. For more than a decade we’ve heard about tech boycotts, but they’ve never worked, people don’t want to be left out, they want to be in on the action. So ignore the hype about Twitter resignations. Twitter is here until it’s superseded by… Well, it took a long time for TikTok and Snapchat to make inroads on Facebook, as for Instagram, the Zuck company bought it! As for the content on Twitter… Misinformation is a major issue. All over social media, never mind “news” sites. Are we just gonna throw up our hands and say we can’t solve the problem, it will have to work itself out? Twitter is not government-owned, it can regulate content, who can be on the service, all day long. Just like the “New York Times” does its best not to print untruths. Can’t say the same for Fox, which is kinda the point, but reputable news organizations are not propaganda outlets spewing falsehoods. They’re worried about their credibility. As for Musk’s credibility, he’s diminishing it each and every day. He sees his number of Twitter followers, he thinks everybody’s a fan, but that is not the case. Misinformation has gotten us here, where democracy is in peril. Maybe you don’t agree with that, but as the old aphorism goes, you’re either part of the problem or part of the solution. As for the problem… You’ve got to read a couple of paragraphs of this article: “As a ‘Seismic Shift’ Fractures Evangelicals, an Arkansas Pastor Leaves Home – Kevin Thompson thought he would lead his hometown church for the rest of his life. Then came Trump and everything after.”  –NYT I’ll make it simple, since clicking through is the hardest thing to get a person to do: “So he was caught off guard when two church members expressed alarm about the passing reference to Mr. Hanks. A young woman texted him, concerned; another member suggested the reference to Mr. Hanks proved Mr. Thompson did not care about the issue of sex trafficking. Mr. Thompson soon realized that their worries sprung from the sprawling QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims that the movie star is part of a ring of Hollywood pedophiles.” I believe the truth here is self-evident. But it’s not self-evident that women are entitled to control their own bodies. Huh? So online is a huge cesspool of information that is misinforming the public. And it’s articles from the right that are shared most on Facebook. Not everything is equal folks. And the truth is the Twitter deal may not close, and many analysts think it probably won’t. You need to read all of the following article: “The flawed math behind Elon Musk’s Twitter deal – An overleveraged billionaire’s bid for an overvalued company may signal the last gasp in an age of magical thinking about markets” –Washington Post You may be able to twist the facts of social issues, but when it comes to money…cash doesn’t care. Once again, since most people don’t have the time or inclination to click through, here’s the essence: “According to Tesla’s regulatory filings, Musk had already pledged about half of his 173 million shares of Tesla stock to fund other ventures and activities. He has now pledged an additional 40 percent to secure the new loans to buy Twitter. That leaves only 10 percent of his Tesla shares available as collateral. Because Tesla’s policies allow major shareholders to borrow only 25 percent of the value of each share that is pledged, that would appear to limit further borrowing against his Tesla shares to less than $5 billion. All that borrowing might work out just dandy as long as the value of the collateral — Tesla stock (TSLA) — remains at or near the $1,000 per share it was trading at when the deal was announced last week. Yet in the week since the announcement, it dropped 15 percent, to $870 (BR: Tesla stock split 3 for 1 on August 4, 2022; it is trading post-split at $275), at least in part out of fear that the stock could get caught up in Musk’s Twitter misadventure. Should it fall below $750, Musk could run afoul of Tesla’s own leverage ratio. And if it were to fall much below $600 ($200 split adj), the banks could demand that Musk pony up additional collateral, requiring him to quickly sell some of his shares. Should Tesla stock fall below $400, the banks would probably demand immediate repayment, triggering a massive, forced sale of Tesla shares, depressing the share price even further and prompting other investors to bail out of the stock.” So Tesla’s stock has fallen. Expect Musk to declare victory and pull out of the deal, the breakup fee is de minimis, at least for Musk, only $1 billion. But let’s say it goes through. And right wing propaganda comes flooding on to the site. Are you gonna feel good about buying a Tesla? I won’t. Yes, Teslas are the best electric cars out there, primarily because the company is so far ahead on software, but beware of VW, which has a head start on the rest of the traditional manufacturers, and has made missteps, but is on its way, never mind having worldwide manufacturing and distribution. And Rivian stock just tanked. So why do we believe the overvalued Tesla will stay high? To a bit it’s apples and oranges, but it’s hard to find almost anyone other than Cathie Wood who doesn’t believe Tesla is overvalued, that the fundamentals don’t make sense. Now in the fifties and sixties and even into the seventies Jews wouldn’t buy German cars. Are lefties, coastal liberals, wanting to demonstrate their beliefs, really gonna line up with Tesla? German cars were the best in the seventies, but people drove inferior products, Volvos and Saabs, because they just didn’t want to give Mercedes, BMW and Audi their money. As for right wingers… They haven’t even gotten on the electric bandwagon, there are not enough of them to support Tesla, at least not at this point. And this is not Disney. ELON MUSK CREATED THIS PROBLEM! It’s not like he was reacting to an incursion upon his business. No, myopically trying to save the world he’s dented his cash cow, Tesla. If I was on the board I’d take disciplinary action. Or there should be a shareholder suit. This guy is single-handedly jeopardizing their investment in the car company, which has nothing to do with Twitter. As for taking a stand… Do it all day long, ...

Lula Calls For Fighting Abstention To Avoid A https://digitalarkansasnews.com/lula-calls-for-fighting-abstention-to-avoid-a/ During a meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, the Workers’ Pary presidential candidate Lula da Silva asked Brazilians to go to the polls on Oct. 2 to avoid “the Trump effect”, which allowed Republicans to win the 2016 election in the United States. RELATED: Bolsonaro is Harshly Criticized in the 2nd Presidential Debate Lula recalled that Robert de Niro referred in derogatory terms to Donald Trump. In his reply to the harsh criticism, however, the Republican candidate reminded the artist that he would not have won if eight million Democratic voters had actually gone to the polls. But they didn’t. For this reason, the Brazilian left-wing candidate asked all citizens, even those who would not vote for him and for the Workers’ Party candidates, to attend the polling stations. “It’s important that people show up to vote, even for them to subsequently have the right to insult and demand,” Lula told Brazilians with seven days to go before the presidential election. Lula also his followers to look for people who are undecided or thinking of abstaining and to ask them to attend to exercise their civil rights. The greater the citizen mobilization, the greater the possibility that the presidential elections will be defined in a single round. This request, however, has also been made by other Brazilian democratic politicians and intellectuals who consider that Bolsonaro will not be able to easily ignore the results of the elections or threaten a coup d’etat if the citizen participation is high. On Sunday, the Brazilian outlet G1 published data from voting intention polls conducted in 26 states and the Federal District between Sept. 12 and Sept. 25. According to this information, Lula continues to lead voting intentions at the national level as well as in the states of Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Maranhao, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio Grande do Norte, Sao Paulo, and Sergipe. On the other hand, Bolsonaro has greater voting intentions in the states of Acre, Goias, Mato Grosso, Parana, Rondonia, Roraima, and Santa Catarina. The G1 data suggest that a possible “technical tie” might occur in the Federal District and in the states of Espiritu Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, and Tocantins. In all these territories, however, Lula keeps an advantage over Bolsonaro. Read More Here

Trump May Have To Sell Skyscrapers At ’Fire Sale’ Prices Over Lawsuit https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-may-have-to-sell-skyscrapers-at-fire-sale-prices-over-lawsuit/ Donald Trump has spent a lifetime avoiding comeuppance, but right now there’s multiple chances for him to get it. On top of the brouhaha over government documents, and the Jan. 6 committee, and his failing Twitter clone, there’s the lawsuit brought upon him, his company, and three of his adult children (not Tiffany, of course) by New York attorney Letitia James. Should he challenge that — and should he lose it — Trump may be so cash-strapped he’ll have no choice but to sell off the only things making him real money: his New York City skyscrapers. As per Raw Story, Trump’s biographer and Bloomberg journalist Tim O’Brien went on MSNBC Sunday and revealed how screwed he might be by James’ lawsuit. Host Alex Witt pointed out that while the lawsuit isn’t criminal in nature, and therefore wound land him in jail, it would bar the Trumps from doing business in Donald’s home state, thereby unraveling the Trump organization. O’Brien said it’s possible, especially because, as his former attorney Michael Cohen has claimed, he doesn’t really have a ton of wealth hoarded. “Michael is completely right that he has never had a lot of cash on hand, he’s almost a debt addict, he has always heavily mortgaged the properties he owns,” O’Brien said. “Most of his wealth is tied up in a handful of skyscrapers in New York City.” That’s why the New York State lawsuit is such a big deal.”Tish James is seeking to bar him from doing business in the state of New York, so he’ll have to unload those if he gets convicted,” O’Brien explained. “And that is a fire sale, which means everyone who’s a buyer will know they won’t have to pay top dollar because he needs to get out of the property.” James, O’Brien pointed out, has made two criminal referrals in her case: to the IRS and to the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York. “So that is now hanging over his head,” O’Brien said. “I think the family’s legacy is in New York, everything that Donald Trump stands on was built by Trump in New York. Trump has put those holdings in peril twice, the first time in the early 90’s when he gorged on debt and couldn’t repay the banks and again now when he has gotten on the wrong side of the law.” He added, “I think this is an existential threat to his business and his financial well-being.” There’s so much bad news for Trump, but at least he has a coping mechanism: employing a team that runs around reading nice tweets written about him — at least as long as he can still afford them. You can watch O’Brien’s MSNBC appearance below. (Via Raw Story) Read More Here

Crime Trumps Abortion In Voter Concerns, Giving GOP Largest Lead On Issue In More Than 30 Years: Poll https://digitalarkansasnews.com/crime-trumps-abortion-in-voter-concerns-giving-gop-largest-lead-on-issue-in-more-than-30-years-poll/ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Crime has surpassed abortion among concerns for Americans, who also said they trust Republicans more than Democrats to handle it, giving them the highest lead on the issue in more than 30 years, according to a recent ABC/WaPo poll released Sunday. According to the survey produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates in New York City, the economy (89%), education (77%) and inflation (76%) topped out the issues voters consider “highly important” as midterms loom, but those issues were followed closely by crime at 69%, which beat out abortion at 62%. Immigration and climate change brought up the rear at 61% and 50%, respectively. Asked which political party they trust to do a better job handling key issues, respondents answered 52% in favor of the Republican Party when it comes to crime, compared to 38% for Democrats. DEMOCRAT-RUN TOURIST TOWN IN NORTH CAROLINA SEES VIOLENT CRIME SPIKE AS POLICE DWINDLE: ‘PERFECT STORM’ President Joe Biden speaks at Wilkes University on Aug. 30, 2022, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) The researchers noted that the GOP’s 14-point advantage among respondents regarding crime is the highest it has been since 1991. Crime and support for law enforcement is a crucial topic among voters throughout the U.S. as crime surges in cities nationwide. Sixty percent of voters overall consider crime a major issue in the lead-up to the midterm elections — 52% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans, according to an August poll from Pew Research. MEMPHIS’ DISTRICT ATTORNEY WILL PUSH BAIL REFORM DESPITE CRITICS BLAMING IT FOR CRIME INCREASES The ABC survey also found that President Biden’s approval ratings have plummeted since he took office, with only 22% “strongly” approving of his performance as of September, down from 34% in April 2021. Those who “strongly” disapprove meanwhile jumped from 35% in April 2021 to 41% in September. Chicago police attempted to pull over a carjacked vehicle in January and traded gunfire with the suspects, shooting one and taking two others into custody. (FOX32 Chicago WFLD) The study also noted that Biden’s approval rating “hit some milestones” in the latest polling, hitting new lows among liberals at 68%, 33% among Southerners and 34% among people in the middle- to upper-middle income range. NEW LOW: BIDEN APPROVAL RATING HITS ALL-TIME LOW, ONLY 19% SUPPORT AMONG HISPANICS, POLL SHOWS President Joe Biden meets with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sept. 21, 2022, at U.N. headquarters in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) The poll found that among Democrat-leaning respondents, 56% would prefer the Democratic Party to nominate a different candidate in 2024, compared to 35% who are on board with running Biden again. CLICK TO GET FOX NEWS APP Among Republican-leaning respondents, 47% would support Trump trying for a second term in 2024, with 46% hoping a different candidate will step up. Read More Here

Fire Breaks Out At World's Biggest Produce Market In Paris https://digitalarkansasnews.com/fire-breaks-out-at-worlds-biggest-produce-market-in-paris/ PARIS — A billowing column of dark smoke towered over Paris on Sunday from a warehouse blaze at a massive produce market that supplies the French capital and surrounding region with much of its fresh food and bills itself as the largest of its kind in the world. Firefighters urged people to stay away from the area in Paris’ southern suburbs, as 100 officers and 30 fire engines battled the blaze at the Rungis International Market. Capt. Marc Le Moine, a spokesman for the Paris fire service, said no one was injured. The fire was brought under control and there was no risk of it spreading from the soccer field-sized warehouse, covering an area of 7,000 square meters (1.7 acres), he said. The cause of the blaze was unknown but will be investigated, he added. The sprawling wholesale market is a veritable town unto itself, with more than 12,000 people working there and warehouses filled with fruit and vegetables, seafood, meats, dairy products and flowers from across France and around the world. Read More Here

Tropical Storm Ian Is Tracking Toward Florida And May Soon Hit Hurricane Status https://digitalarkansasnews.com/tropical-storm-ian-is-tracking-toward-florida-and-may-soon-hit-hurricane-status/ This satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Ian over the central Caribbean on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (NOAA via AP) AP hide caption toggle caption AP This satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Ian over the central Caribbean on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (NOAA via AP) AP TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Authorities and residents in Florida were keeping a cautious eye on Tropical Storm Ian as it rumbled ominously through the Caribbean on Sunday, likely to become a major hurricane on its path toward the state. Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency throughout Florida and urged residents to prepare for the storm to lash large swaths of the state with heavy rains, high winds and rising seas. Forecasters are still unsure of exactly where Ian could make landfall, with current models plotting it toward Florida’s west coast or panhandle regions, he said. “We’re going to keep monitoring the track of this storm but it really is important to stress the degree of uncertainty that still exists,” DeSantis said at a news conference Sunday, cautioning that “even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state. The National Hurricane Center said the tropical storm was expected to strengthen into a hurricane late Sunday or early Monday and eventually become a major hurricane before reaching western Cuba. Victoria Colson, 31, of Tampa loads sandbags into her truck along with other Tampa residents who waited for over 2 hours at Himes Avenue Complex to fill their 10 free sandbags on Sunday. Luis Santana/AP hide caption toggle caption Luis Santana/AP Victoria Colson, 31, of Tampa loads sandbags into her truck along with other Tampa residents who waited for over 2 hours at Himes Avenue Complex to fill their 10 free sandbags on Sunday. Luis Santana/AP Flash and urban flooding is possible in the Florida Keys and Florida peninsula through midweek and then heavy rainfall was possible for north Florida, the Florida panhandle and the southeast United States later this week. The agency advised Floridians to have hurricane plans in place and monitor updates of the storm’s evolving path. President Joe Biden also declared an emergency, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to coordinate disaster relief and provide assistance to protect lives and property. The president postponed a scheduled Sept. 27 trip to Florida due to the storm. A hurricane warning was in effect Sunday for Grand Cayman and the Cuban provinces of Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Rio and Artemisa. Cuban state media said emergency authorities have met to plan for the storm’s arrival and prepare for evacuations, though none had been ordered as of Sunday. The track forecast by the National Hurricane Center shows a major storm striking the far-western part of the island early Tuesday, close to the country’s most famed tobacco fields. John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at the Miami-based center, said in an interview Sunday that it is not clear exactly where Ian will hit hardest in Florida. Residents should begin preparations, including gathering supplies for potential power outages, he said. Shoppers go for what was left of the water on the shelves of a Walmart Supercenter on Sunday in Tampa, Fla. Matt Cohen/AP hide caption toggle caption Matt Cohen/AP Shoppers go for what was left of the water on the shelves of a Walmart Supercenter on Sunday in Tampa, Fla. Matt Cohen/AP “It’s a hard thing to say stay tuned, but that’s the right message right now,” said Cangialosi. “But for those in Florida, it’s still time to prepare. I’m not telling you to put up your shutters yet or do anything like that but it’s still time to get your supplies.” Local media in Florida has reported a consumer rush on water, generators and other supplies in some areas where residents moved to stock up on goods ahead of the storm. Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said the state has begun loading trailers with more than 2 million meals and more than 1 million gallons of water to be ready to be sent into impacted areas. He said the state has had frequent communication with local governments and is processing requests for resources. At Kennedy Space Center, NASA kept close watch on Ian’s projected path while debating whether to move its new moon rocket off the launch pad and into shelter. Managers already have bumped the test flight from this week to next because of the storm. Elsewhere, powerful post-tropical cyclone Fiona crashed ashore Saturday in Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Canada region, washing houses into the sea, tearing off rooftops and knocking out power to more than 500,000 customers in two provinces. Read More Here

New Minimum Tax Could Hit Berkshire Hathaway And Amazon Hardest, Study Shows https://digitalarkansasnews.com/new-minimum-tax-could-hit-berkshire-hathaway-and-amazon-hardest-study-shows/ Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett seen at the annual Berkshire shareholder shopping day in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 3, 2019. Scott Morgan | Reuters Researchers applied the Inflation Reduction Act’s new 15% corporate minimum tax onto 2021 company earnings and found that the burden would only be felt by about 78 companies, with Berkshire Hathaway and Amazon paying up the most. The study from the University of North Carolina Tax Center used past securities filings to map the tax, which goes into effect in January, onto companies’ 2021 earnings. The researchers found that the 15% minimum would have taken a total of $31.8 billion from 78 firms in 2021. Berkshire led the estimated payout with $8.33 billion, and Amazon follows behind with $2.77 billion owed based on its 2021 earnings. The study notes the limitations of looking solely at public company data within a single year. The researchers recognized that these estimates may be subject to change, especially as company operations change under the tax in 2023. President Joe Biden signed the minimum book tax into law, along with the rest of the Inflation Reduction Act, in August. The tax is specifically meant to target companies earning more than $1 billion per year. The Joint Committee on Taxation had previously estimated that it would affect around 150 firms, with the costs falling specifically on the manufacturing industry. The bipartisan JCT also predicted $34 billion in revenue in the first year of the tax, slightly more than the theoretical 2021 revenue estimated at UNC. According to the study, the next-highest taxes would be paid by Ford, AT&T, eBay and Moderna, all of which would owe more than $1.2 billion in payments based on their 2021 financials. Read More Here

Schiff Says Any Criminal Referral For Trump By The January 6 Committee Should Be Decided Unanimously – KTVZ https://digitalarkansasnews.com/schiff-says-any-criminal-referral-for-trump-by-the-january-6-committee-should-be-decided-unanimously-ktvz/ CNN By Daniella Diaz and Devan Cole, CNN US Rep. Adam Schiff, who serves on the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection, says that if the panel makes a criminal referral for former President Donald Trump related to the riot at the US Capitol, it should be made unanimously. “We operate with a high degree of consensus and unanimity,” the California Democrat told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday. “It will be certainly, I think, my recommendation, my feeling, that we should make referrals, but we will get to a decision as a committee, and we will all abide by that decision, and I will join our committee members if they feel differently.” CNN reported earlier this year that although the bipartisan committee was in wide agreement that Trump committed a crime when he pushed a conspiracy to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election, panelists were split over what to do about it, including whether to make a criminal referral of Trump to the Justice Department, according to four sources connected to the committee. The internal debate spilled into plain view in June when the committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, repeatedly told a group of reporters at the Capitol that the panel would not be issuing any criminal referrals, a declaration that several of his fellow committee members were quick to push back on. Schiff said Sunday he wouldn’t disclose information about the focus of the select committee’s public hearing Wednesday, which will likely be its last until the panel releases its final report. “I think it’ll be potentially more sweeping than some of the other hearings, but it too will be in a very thematic — it will tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election,” he said. Rep. Jamie Raskin, another January 6 panelist, said Sunday that the upcoming public hearing would share “details” learned by the committee since its last hearing in August. The Maryland Democrat told NBC News that he expects Wednesday’s hearing to be the last presentation of its investigation, but he’s “hopeful” the committee will hold a hearing presenting recommendations to Congress. Raskin added that the goal of Wednesday’s hearing is for panelists to reveal the newest findings in the investigation to supplement the broader narrative they presented in earlier hearings. Schiff, when asked by Tapper about the committee obtaining Secret Service communications related to the riot, said the panel was still going through them. “We are still going through them because they are very voluminous. I will say they’re not a substitute for having the text messages that were apparently erased from those devices, and we are still investigating how that came about and why that came about. And I hope and believe the Justice Department on that issue is also looking at whether laws were broken and the destruction of that evidence,” Schiff said. “But we do have a mountain of information that we need to go through.” Thompson said earlier this month that the communications turned over to the January 6 committee included “a combination of a number of text messages, radio traffic, that kind of thing. Just thousands of exhibits.” He added that the texts that were handed over were “primarily” from the day before and during the riot. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, another member of the committee, reemphasized the panel’s desire to obtain further testimony from former US Secret Service Assistant Director Tony Ornato, who retired last month. “We remain deeply wanting to hear from him,” he said Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” Ornato has met with the committee twice but has not agreed to a meeting since former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told the committee Ornato had told her Trump was irate upon learning his security detail wouldn’t take him to the US Capitol the day of the insurrection. Lawmakers push back on Trump Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, added his voice Sunday to a growing group of lawmakers pushing back on Trump’s claim that he could simply declassify classified documents by “thinking about it.” “No, that’s not how it works. Those comments don’t demonstrate much intelligence of any kind,” he told Tapper. “If you could simply declassify by thinking about it, then frankly, if that’s his view, he’s even more dangerous than we may have thought.” He continued: “With that view, he could simply spout off on anything he read in a Presidential Daily Brief or anything he was briefed on by the CIA director to a visiting Russian delegation or any other delegation and simply say, ‘Well, I thought about it and therefore, when the words came out of my mouth, they were declassified.’” Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Republican in the chamber, also rejected Trump’s claim on Sunday, telling ABC News that he doesn’t “think a president can declassify documents by saying so.” This story has been updated with additional reaction. The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. CNN’s Aaron Pellish and Sonnet Swire contributed to this report. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 12:19 P.m. EDT https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1219-p-m-edt/ Winter’s approach sets clock ticking for Ukraine, Russia KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The onset of autumnal weather in Ukraine is making fields too muddy for tanks and beginning to cloud Ukrainian efforts to take back more Russian-held territory before winter freezes the battlefields. The clock is ticking for both sides. Russia is rushing to call up of hundreds of thousands of men to throw into the seven-month war, seeking to reverse its recent losses. The mobilization is sparking Russian protests, with fresh demonstrations Sunday. It is also opening splits in Europe about whether fighting-age Russian men fleeing in droves should be welcomed or turned away. ‘Multilateral’? Global South’s leaders question solidarity DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The United Nations was established on one simple notion above all others — that working together is better than going it alone. But while the term “multilateralism” might be trending at this year’s U.N. General Assembly, some leaders are calling out the heads of richer nations. Whether it’s the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic or climate change, developing countries say it seems that richer nations are thinking of themselves first and not the world’s most vulnerable. When the United Nations was established in 1945, world leaders hoped it would make sure that something like World War II never happened again. That meant working together. Canada sends troops to help clear Fiona’s devastation TORONTO (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people in Atlantic Canada remain without power and officials are trying tried to assess the scope of devastation of from former Hurricane Fiona. It swept away houses, stripped off roofs and blocked roads across the country’s Atlantic provinces. After surging north from the Caribbean, Fiona came ashore before dawn Saturday as a post-tropical cyclone, still at hurricane strength. Defense Minister Anita Anand says troops will help remove fallen trees, restore transportation links and do whatever else is required for as long as it takes. Fiona caused at least five deaths in the Caribbean. One woman is missing in Canada. Tropical Storm Ian strengthens as it heads to Cuba, Florida TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities and residents in Florida are keeping a cautious eye on Tropical Storm Ian as it rumbles through the Caribbean, expected to continue gaining strength and become a major hurricane in the coming days on a forecast track toward the state. Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a statewide emergency, expanding an order from Friday that had covered two dozen counties. He is urging Floridians to prepare for a storm that could lash large swaths of the state. Some residents have begun stocking up on supplies such as water, plywood and generators. President Joe Biden has also declared an emergency for the state. Ceremony and controversy await Harris during visit to Asia WASHINGTON (AP) — Attending funerals on behalf of the United States is normally a straightforward assignment for a vice president. But for Kamala Harris, there’ll be controversy at nearly every turn as she visits Asia for the memorial honoring former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. American allies are seeking clarity after mixed messages over whether President Joe Biden would send troops to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion. There’s the potential for more provocations from North Korea, which test-fired a missile shortly before Harris’ departure from Washington. And there’s resentment over a new U.S. law that makes electric vehicles built outside of North America ineligible for subsidies. Italians vote in election that could take far-right to power ROME (AP) — Italians are voting in a national election coming at a critical time for Europe. Soaring energy bills, largely caused by the war in Ukraine, have households and businesses fearful they can’t keep the heat or lights on this winter. Sunday’s balloting for Italy’s Parliament might yield the nation’s first government led by the far right since the end of World War II. Opinion polls had indicated Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party, with its neo-fascist roots, would be the top vote-getter. Polls opened at 7 a.m. The counting of paper ballots is expected to begin shortly after they close at 11 p.m. (2100 GMT), with projections based on partial results coming early Monday morning. Analysis: Latest Iran protests likely not last for Tehran Only glimpses of videos that make it online show the protests convulsing Iran over the death of a 22-year-old woman who had been detained by the nation’s morality police. But those flashes show that public anger across the country, once only simmering, is now boiling. The demonstrations surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini — and the government crackdown emerging to stifle them — represent the latest cycle of unrest to grip Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. It likely won’t be the last as the Islamic Republic lurches between crises at home and abroad. Texas vow to ‘eliminate all rapists’ rings hollow at clinics AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Rape crisis centers in Texas say their caseloads remain high a year after a new abortion law that made no exceptions for rape victims went into effect. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott defended the law in September 2021 by saying that Texas would get to work eliminating rapes. But the constant caseloads in Texas are one example illustrating how Republicans have struggled to defend zero-exception abortion bans that are unpopular in public polling and caused uproar in high-profile cases. The absence of exceptions has caused divisions among Republicans, including in West Virginia, where a new law signed this month allows rape and incest victims to obtain abortions at up to eight weeks of pregnancy but only if they report to law enforcement first. Critics: Oregon’s move to decriminalize hard drugs a failure SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Since Oregon residents voted in 2020 to decriminalize hard drugs and dedicate hundreds of millions of dollars to treatment, few people have requested the services and the state has been slow to channel the funds. Oregon still has among the highest addiction rates in the country. Fatal overdoses have increased almost 20% over the previous year, with over a thousand dead. Steve Allen, behavioral health director of the Oregon Health Authority, acknowledges that Oregon’s experiment has had a rocky start. But he says a milestone has been reached, with more than $302 million being sent to facilities across the state to help people get off drugs. Democrats in Florida seek to win over Latinos on gun control MIAMI (AP) — Democrats in Florida are trying to make inroads with Latino voters by focusing on gun safety. It’s part of an effort to curb the gains made by Republican in Latino-heavy areas as Democrats address gun violence and highlight what they say is the lack of action by Republicans. Few places disappointed Democrats in 2020 as deeply as South Florida. A shift among Latinos toward the GOP contributed to several unexpected losses in House races and helped then-President Donald Trump carry Florida. Democrats are campaigning differently this year as they aim to connect the party’s priorities to the personal experiences of a group that often feels overlooked in national politics. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Read More Here

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, Trump Critic, Says She’ll Back ‘whomever Republicans Nominate’ In 2024 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/gop-rep-nancy-mace-trump-critic-says-shell-back-whomever-republicans-nominate-in-2024/ Rep. Nancy Mace dodged directly answering Sunday whether she would back another run for president by Donald Trump, but the South Carolina Republican ultimately said she would “support whomever Republicans nominate” in 2024. Ms. Mace, who defeated a Trump-backed primary challenger and is a critic of the former president, made it clear that her preference would be other unnamed Republicans. “I’m very much hopeful, and I think you’ll see this on both sides of the aisle, [for] a deep bench of Republicans and Democrats who will be running for president in ‘24. I hope that’s what happens,” she said on NBC “Meet the Press.” “I got through a very difficult primary, one of the only Republican House members to do that this election cycle.” Ms. Mace has drawn rebukes from Mr. Trump and his allies over her criticism of his efforts to overturn the election and the attack on the U.S. Capitol.  While she did not vote to impeach the former president, she has advised fellow Republicans the party needs to focus on substance in determining a nominee for the next presidential election. “We have to be solution-driven, regardless of who the nominee is for ‘24 for Republicans,” she said. “I hope that it’s a wide field. I hope that we see a woman on the ticket.” SEE ALSO: Sen. Barrasso says presidents can’t declassify documents ‘by saying so’ or ‘by thinking about it’ Read More Here

Democrats Are Warming To A Biden 2024 Campaign. They're Just Not Sure If He'll Run. https://digitalarkansasnews.com/democrats-are-warming-to-a-biden-2024-campaign-theyre-just-not-sure-if-hell-run/ (CNN)Many Democratic leaders, operatives and officials are cautiously warming to the idea of President Joe Biden running for reelection in 2024, dozens of high-ranking Democrats told CNN. The mood has notably shifted among top Democrats in recent months. During the depths of Biden’s political struggles in March, some party leaders from all over the country huddled in the hallways of the Hilton a few blocks from the White House for the annual Democratic National Committee meeting, according to four people involved in the conversations. Over drinks, while looking around to make sure no one overheard, they winced and grimaced and whispered: What could they do to stop Biden from running for reelection again? “There were people who were not certain he would be the right candidate,” said Jim Roosevelt, a top DNC member and the grandson of a president who ran for reelection more than any other. When those same state party chairs and executive directors returned to the capital for their fall meeting two weeks ago, the disposition had whipped around. Biden’s summer of successes has started to permeate. Fears of a radical Donald Trump restoration remain high, mounting legal problems regardless. A potentially bruising open primary would loom if Biden decided against seeking another term. “In New Mexico I’ve seen a radical shift after his speech in Philadelphia,” said the state’s Democratic Party chair Jessica Velasquez, referring to the President’s battle for the soul of democracy speech. “Part of that is he just keeps showing up.” A state party chair who asked not to be named added, “People were grumbling because nothing was passing. Now we’re getting the Biden we all voted for.” Inside the White House — both in the West Wing and in first lady Dr. Jill Biden’s offices — the last six weeks have renewed confidence of the President’s chances in a reelection run. They’ve developed a chip-on-the-shoulder underdog mentality, saying people doubt Biden and claim they’re not excited by him before he pulls it all together and comes out on top. He did it after he was counted out during the 2020 primaries, they say, he did it in going up against Trump and he did it again when his presidency was assumed to have sputtered out in the spring. Now they were ready to get on board — if he is. “If he feels he can do it,” Roosevelt said, “people would want him to do it.” Biden is already the oldest president ever and tends to keep a lighter public schedule than his predecessors, which has led to questions about how extensive a campaign he’d engage in. But even with those limited appearances recently, his poll numbers have been slowly moving upward. Already at his rally in Washington on Friday, Biden delivered another in what has become a series of much more energetic speeches, ripping into Republicans while pacing the stage on a handheld mic, and then walking off the stage to the beat of Daft Punk’s “One More Time.” But as much as most Democrats would love to be finished with the endless “Is he going to run?” discussion, Biden keeps stoking it. “My intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again. But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen,” Biden said in his “60 Minutes” interview that aired last Sunday. Advisers dismissed that answer as simply trying to listen to lawyers’ warnings of not preemptively triggering Federal Elections Commission laws around fundraising and activity. Many others are not convinced. People in and around the President’s orbit would like him to make a decision by early 2023, after he comes back from his traditional Biden family Christmas, possibly by Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “He will decide when he decides,” a top Democrat who speaks to the President told CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a highly sensitive subject. “And rarely has he ever decided anything a minute sooner than he has to.” Even in-the-know supporters who say they’re completely gung-ho about Biden 2024 quickly add that of course he’ll have to talk with his family to see what’s right for him — and that more than anything, they know everything hinges on the first lady. No incumbent president has faced these kinds of continued doubts about running for reelection, which stretch from Pennsylvania Avenue to Pennsylvania. Dave Henderson, the executive director of AFSCME Council 13 in Pennsylvania — who as a union leader from Pittsburgh is about as core a Biden voter as exists — said he’d supported the President from the start of his 2020 campaign and remains enthusiastic, but paused when asked if he’d support Biden for reelection. “Tough question, because I’m not sure he’s going to run for reelection,” Henderson said. Told that Biden has said he intends to run, Henderson signed on immediately: “If he’s running, then I’ve got his back.” Sen. Chris Coons, the Delaware Democrat who holds Biden’s old seat and has stayed a confidant, told CNN the President “is seriously considering running,” and dismissed any static from the “60 Minutes” interview or elsewhere. “He beat Donald Trump before; he’ll beat Donald Trump again. If that’s the way this race plays out, I think Joe Biden is the best Democrat to beat Donald Trump in 2024,” Coons said. Standing on the White House driveway earlier this month after attending the Inflation Reduction Act celebration, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said that as one of the incumbent Democrats facing a strong GOP challenger in November, he’d be eager to have the President come campaign for him. “People have connected that it’s Democrats delivering,” Bennet said, “But I’d say it’s something more important than that: It reflects a very different ethic than the chaos of the Trump White House.” A family decision Those who know the first lady’s thought process, and are familiar with the strength of the Biden clan’s input, tell CNN that the last few months have also made them feel more open to another campaign. At times, they’ve expressed a little excitement at the prospect. Jill Biden “is still processing” the idea, says a person with knowledge of the first lady’s recent conversations on the topic. She was never sold on Biden’s running in 2016, when he ultimately didn’t. She was in favor of his running in 2020, when he did. “She will want to know if he can win, first and foremost. She will not want him put in a position where he could be embarrassed,” said one person who has worked for Biden for a long time and has witnessed the first lady’s tenacity with assessing data. “She will want to see a strategy for a primary and for a general (election).” With the exception of Hunter Biden’s toddler-aged son, the other five Biden grandchildren are old enough, and care enough, to have an opinion on whether their “Pop” should run again. The President himself has recently returned to recounting the input his grandchildren gave him about getting into the 2020 race. “Jill would make sure this decision would be made as a family — Hunter, Ashley, Val (Biden’s sister) and the grandchildren,” says the person who has worked with Biden. “She would want to know how they individually feel.” A senior Biden adviser insisted there’s no wavering. “The President has consistently said he intends to run for reelection and that is something both Dr. Biden and the family fully supports,” the adviser said. “The first lady will be an active campaigner for Democrats this fall and will carry a message of optimism and hope, focusing on the accomplishments of her husband’s administration. ‘Joe is delivering results’ will be a frequent message from her on the stump, name checking his achievements, and calling on voters to imagine what more he could do with larger majorities in Congress.” The questions over Biden’s age get a little quieter Biden is now a couple of months older than he was when many Democrats were gingerly trying to nudge him off the stage in the spring, but suddenly they’re insisting age is just a number for a man who’d be an unprecedented 86 years old by the end of his second term. “The age thing is a convenient place to go for people who had other reasons to say they didn’t want him to run,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania congressman who was rooting for Biden to run in 2016, attended the first fundraiser of his 2020 campaign and is eager to see him go again. “It will be unique to have someone that age running for president. It was two years ago. It was in 2016 with Trump.” Standing in a hallway in the Capitol, Boyle motioned toward the House floor, where all three top members of the Democratic leadership are already in their 80s. “I serve in Congress,” he said. “To me, Joe Biden is young.” Biden has always been sensitive about being seen as or called old, but he and others now say that all the talk over the summer that he wasn’t up to the moment and shouldn’t run for reelection was just Democrats voicing their despair that he and his White House seemed unable to get anything done. “First half of the administration, people were basically describing him as Johnny Carson in his retirement year,” said Quinton Lucas, the 38-year-old mayor of Kansas City. “What you are seeing now is someone who is very active, going on trips, engaging with different parts of the administration.” Getting results on “issues that not only are important for all Americans but issues the base has been talking about for a long time — guns, climate — that quells that discussion,” Lucas said. Sitting at a bar in the Pittsburgh suburbs, Summer Lee, the young outspoken progressive almost certainly headed to Congress to succeed a retiring Democrat, said she’s not ready to commit to Biden — but is ready to hear him out. “You can have a man for the moment, but it...

Path Shows Ian Sparing South Florida For Now, But Parts Of Cuba Could See Life-Threatening Floods https://digitalarkansasnews.com/path-shows-ian-sparing-south-florida-for-now-but-parts-of-cuba-could-see-life-threatening-floods/ Tropical Storm Ian is expected to become a hurricane Sunday, and then grow into the season’s second major hurricane by midweek. Ian is forecast to produce heavy rain, and flooding particularly over western Cuba as a major hurricane, meaning Category 3 or above. Western Cuba and Grand Cayman were under a hurricane warning Sunday. Life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds are expected in portions of western Cuba beginning late Monday. All signs point to Ian reaching Florida as a weakened hurricane. The most recent forecasts suggest southeast Florida may dodge the initial impact, unlike the rest of the state, as the storm’s potential path shifts north and west. (National Hurricane Center) At the 11 a.m. advisory, Ian was moving west-northwest at 12 mph with maximum sustained winds remaining at 50 mph. At 11 a.m., it was 300 miles south-southeast of Grand Cayman and 570 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba. On the forecast track, the center of Ian is forecast to pass well southwest of Jamaica on Sunday, and pass near or west of the Cayman Islands early Monday. Ian will then move near or over western Cuba Monday night and early Tuesday. If Ian does make landfall on Cuba, it is expected to do so as a major hurricane (sustained winds of at least 111 mph). It will then and emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. The track forecast has continued to move west since the last update. However, much uncertainty remains. “There is significant spread noted even among the GFS ensemble members, with positions that range from the north-central Gulf of Mexico to the west coast of Florida,” the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. advisory Saturday. Ian will likely drop heavy rainfall, flash flooding, and possible mudslides in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, with heavy rains in Jamaican and the Cayman Islands in the next few days. That doesn’t mean South Floridians should rejoice, however. The cone could still shift back east, and even if it doesn’t, the cone shows only where the center of the hurricane will likely be, not the havoc it may wreak. “I know a lot of South Floridians, they kind of look at the graphic and take that as the holy grail,” said Shawn Bhatti, a meteorologist for National Weather Service Miami, on Saturday afternoon. “But it’s important to remember there’s volatility with that and impacts extend far outside what the cone is able to show.” [ MAP: See the latest forecast map for potential Hurricane Ian  ] Those impacts include extreme flooding, tropical storm-force winds, and tornadoes. The cone of uncertainty forecasts where the center of a hurricane will be two-thirds of the time, Bhatti said. But subtle shifts in the track can make a huge difference, and the warm waters of the Gulf and possible land interaction with Cuba could create those shifts. “This weekend, have all preparations in place for a potential worst-case scenario,” said Bhatti. The “reasonable” worst-case scenario right now still includes all the impacts associated with a major hurricane. But if the storm keeps shifting west, South Florida could see only high waves and gusty winds. As the weekend progresses, the hurricane’s path will become increasingly clear. By Sunday night into Monday morning, forecasters say they’ll have a much better idea of what’s to come and whether South Florida might be spared the brunt of the storm. [ READ IN SPANISH: Se espera que el huracán Ian se forme hoy; la ruta pronosticada parece no llegar al sur de Florida por ahora  ] Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday amended the state of emergency to encompass all of Florida. Previously, the state of emergency had been issued only for 24 counties, including Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach. The Florida National Guard will be activated and on standby to respond as needed, the emergency order says. Warm waters in the Caribbean and the Gulf will strengthen the storm into a hurricane as early as Sunday, with “rapid intensification” possible, the National Weather Service said Saturday. South Florida could start to see heavy rainfall on Monday, presenting a risk of limited flash and urban flooding, according to the latest advisory. Meanwhile, tropical storm-force winds may begin in South Florida as early as Monday night, but are most likely to start Tuesday evening. Robert Garcia, a meteorologist with National Weather Service Miami, encouraged South Floridians to prepare over the weekend. “It’s time to start getting those hurricane plans out, making sure everyone has all the things they need in their kits, water, know where your insurance papers are,” Garcia said. “Stay attentive to what’s going on with the forecast. Things are probably going to progress through the weekend and into early next week where that attention will necessary.” (National Hurricane Center) [ STAY UPDATED with the latest forecast for tropical weather at SunSentinel.com/hurricane ] Florida’s Division of Emergency Management issued a news release Friday announcing that the state is preparing for potential landfall and urging Floridians to prepare their homes for the storm. “It is critical that Floridians remain vigilant and prepared — it only takes one storm to cause costly or irreversible damage to your home or business,” FDEM director Kevin Guthrie said in the release. The National Hurricane Center is also tracking other Atlantic storms. Breaking News Alerts As it happens Get updates on developing stories as they happen with our free breaking news email alerts. Tropical Storm Hermine on Sunday was continuing to bring rain to the Canary Islands and is poised to become a remnant low, forecasters said. What was Hurricane Fiona had weakened to a post-tropical cyclone by early Sunday, and the National Hurricane Center was no longer posting advisories about the storm. Fiona was the first major hurricane of the 2022 season, meaning Category 3 and above. Forecasters are also monitoring a broad area of low pressure in the Atlantic that has a 20% chance of developing in the next five days, though Ian is the biggest concern. “The one to watch is definitely the system moving into the southeastern Caribbean,” said Eric Blake, a forecaster for the National Hurricane Center. Tropical Storm Gaston is continuing to weaken and is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone Sunday morning. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30. The next named storm after Ian would be Julia. Read More Here

Is A Beer Shortage On Tap? Inflation And Supply Chain Pressures On Brewers Are Intensifying https://digitalarkansasnews.com/is-a-beer-shortage-on-tap-inflation-and-supply-chain-pressures-on-brewers-are-intensifying-2/ Beer makers are facing many challenges as inflation and supply chain issues raise cost of brewing and shipping. Shortages in aluminum cans and carbon dioxide, used in brewing, have hampered some brewers. For consumers, beer prices are rising – up 5% so far this year – but not as fast as on other goods including food, which rose about 11%. We have endured no shortage of shortages recently. There was toilet paper and computer chips, followed by tampons and baby formula. Could the next shortage involve beer? The potential arises as beer makers, big and small, are under pressure from a confluence of inflation and several supply chain issues. Some breweries have found it challenging to get carbon dioxide (CO2), which is used to clean tanks and carbonate beer. When they do get it, the price is often higher, sometimes twice what they used to pay. Also rising: the price of other ingredients such as malted barley and the cost to ship that and other products. All this could lead to higher beer prices. And, it could result in some of your favorite beers being out of stock or not on tap. “I don’t know if I can think of a scenario where there’d be no beer from a brewery, but I can understand a scenario where there would be a limited or smaller offering, as beer has a short shelf life,” said Chuck Aaron, owner and founder of Jersey Girl Brewing in Hackettstown, N.J. The environment is challenging enough that it could force some breweries to close. “This could certainly be a factor in closures,” Bart Watson, chief economist for the Brewers Association, told USA TODAY.  In a mid-year survey of the association’s membership – about 5,600 U.S. small and independent breweries – some brewers’ sentiments amounted to, “we’re selling as much beer as we were pre-pandemic, but making far less on that beer, and we’re unsure how long that is sustainable,” Watson said. Gas prices go up after declines: Here’s where gas is cheapest and most expensive What’s it mean for you?: Fed hikes interest rate 0.75 percentage point to tame inflation Why could there be a beer shortage? Because breweries, which are accustomed to some supply chain struggles, face a growing list of headaches. The price and availability of aluminum cans became increasingly volatile as cans became critical to breweries’ survival. Many had pivoted to curbside pickup and offsite distribution during the national shutdown brought on by COVID-19. Similarly, the supply of CO2 has “remained tight since the shortages in the Spring of 2020,” Watson said in a recent report. Breweries have often got less than they ordered – or worse, not had promised amounts delivered at all. Now, inflation has driven up the entire cost of breweries’ shopping list, just as it has for all Americans.  That means breweries are likely paying more for CO2, cans, paper goods, malt (grains needed for making beer), and hops. “What’s unprecedented is the number of areas where we are seeing challenges,” Watson told USA TODAY. Inflation: No more steak. Ordering out less. Here’s how inflation is squeezing American diets. Settle Down Easy Brewing Co. in Falls Church, Virginia hasn’t been hit hard by CO2 price increases, but is paying an additional two cents per can for its canning line, purchased during the pandemic, said co-owner Frank Kuhns. But other price increases have hit harder including $150-$300 “gas travel” fees for each delivery from suppliers, and labor and equipment costs of 30% to 40% more than originally budgeted, for the construction of a second Northern Virginia location a few miles away in Oakton, Virginia. So far, “we have made the decision to hold and not pass these increases onto the customer and instead look for new suppliers or cutting costs without sacrificing quality,” Kuhns said. Despite the dilemma, the nation’s beer taps won’t likely run dry. But they could be tempered, he said. “I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say there will be shortages. Individual producers may have issues, but this isn’t so widespread that you’re going to see empty beer shelves,” Watson said. “I think the beer brand that consumers want occasionally being out of stock is closer to accurate. And brewers might make different or fewer beers.” Why is carbon dioxide needed to make beer? Most beer lovers know that brewers use CO2 to carbonate beer. But CO2 also is used to clean fermentation tanks and keep oxygen out before they are refilled. “Oxygen is the devil of beer and will kill a beer if you have oxygen in it,” Aaron said. But many breweries have had a devil of a time getting the CO2 they need. A main contributor is that a natural source of CO2, the Jackson Dome, an extinct volcano in Mississippi, “is facing a contamination issue with the raw gas from the mine creating a significant decrease in available food grade CO,” Watson told brewers in a July report. High demand and some shutdowns at ammonia plants, which create and capture CO2 to sell to other industries, has compounded the shortage. So have rail disputes, which have disrupted deliveries, wrote Forbes columnist Richard Howells, a supply chain executive. “Yes, you heard right,” Howells wrote. “In this era, of trying to reduce emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere, we are actually going to have a shortage of the CO2 that provides the carbonation so loved by millions of concerned beer drinkers.” How are breweries coping with the CO2 shortage? Most have had to pay more for CO2, while many have had to find alternate suppliers. And if a brewer cannot get enough, that could lead to some beers not getting made, said Tomme Arthur, co-founder and chief operating owner of Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey in San Diego County, California. “I don’t expect the grocery aisles to be missing 18 packs of lager,” he said. “But your local craft brewer is certainly at risk for having to adjust brewing schedules and deliverables based on this lack of CO2 and the need for it in so many of the brewing practices.” At Jersey Girl Brewing, the cost has doubled over the the past year, from about 20 cents a pound to 44 cents. Aaron said he has been “watching the invoice price creep up and up and up as we fill” the brewery’s bulk tanks capable of holding 1,500 pounds of the gas. Aaron has also had to decide not to make some beers, such as a Helles lager, because the German grains needed were too costly with increased shipping prices. And some beers needing New Zealand International hops have not been produced.  “Hopefully once the prices come back in line, we’ll be able to reintroduce those into the market,” he said. Earlier this week, Axios reported that a “U.S. beer shortage looms with gap in carbon dioxide supply.” It also noted that some breweries have equipment to capture the CO2 emitted in the brewing process, but it is very expensive. Also vying for CO2: Other industries including carbonated beverage makers and food manufacturers.  “As we have learned, brewers are a relatively small user of CO2 in the grand scheme of things,” Watson said. What’s everyone talking about?: Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day Could beer become more expensive? It already has. The makers of Miller Lite and Coors Light, and Bud Light – as well as Stella Artois – have all raised prices recently. But beer prices are up far less than the cost of production. The price of beer purchased to drink at home had risen about 5% as of August 2022, compared to August 2021, according to the Consumer Price Index. That’s higher than whiskey (3%), wine (2.5%), and other spirits (1.2%).  Another barometer of pricing: The average cost to consumers for beer has risen 3.4%, over the past year for the equivalent of a 24-pack of 12 oz. cans, based on prices for the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, according to Nielsen IQ. Beer price increases have also remained below that of other consumer goods – overall, prices increased 8.3% compared to a year ago, and food rose 11.4%. Price hikes have not “stopped consumers from trading up to” craft beers, imported beers or canned cocktails and seltzers, said Bump Williams, a beverage industry consultant. Consumers have also been buying more 12-packs and single-serving cans as they have been “changing their purchase behavior with inflation going up, interest rates going up, gas prices going up, and a declining stock market turning 401k’s into 201k’s,” Williams said. “So folks are managing their affordable luxury expenditures a bit differently today.” Could the price of cans also affect beer supply? Probably indirectly, since aluminum prices are just one of several costs brewers see increasing. Costs of cans “are still much higher than they were and I believe once prices go up the way we’ve experienced them, you tend not to see them come back down,” Aaron said. While there has been less volatility recently, some breweries had to find a new supplier when Ball Corp., one of the nation’s largest can manufacturers, earlier this year raised its minimum requirements for customers, citing unprecedented demand.  “We were sent scrambling to find an alternative supplier,” which charges 1.5 cents more per unit, Arthur said. “A truck load of cans is approximately 156,000 units so the pennies add up,”  he said. “I have never seen this level of inflationary pressures combined with outright shortages. It’s bonkers to put it mildly,” Arthur said. “I suspect that nearly every brewery in town is being jammed on the same fronts.” Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider. Read More Here

New Little Rock Federal Reserve Leader Looks To Convene, Connect – Talk Business & Politics https://digitalarkansasnews.com/new-little-rock-federal-reserve-leader-looks-to-convene-connect-talk-business-politics/ Matuschka Lindo Briggs, who was named in June as Vice President and regional executive for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ Little Rock branch, is down with Arkansas hospitality. “The hospitality is overwhelming. I will say the big surprise is the food. I’m a foodie and the food is good in Arkansas, no matter where you are and just driving through the state. So I really like the way the state has welcomed me, opened their arms to me. It’s really, really meant a lot to me.” Briggs was named to the Little Rock post the summer and succeeded Robert Hopkins, who retired after 38 years. She joined the Fed in 2015 and has held a variety of roles ahead of her current assignment. She has spent her time in Arkansas so far meeting and networking across the state. Finding ways to convene and connect people for the purpose of storytelling is an important part of her job in conveying anecdotal information to the St. Louis central bank. “…Data and research is so important to the fed, but there is a lag to that,” she said. “I have been traveling [Arkansas] and there is a lot of good stuff happening in the Natural State, but I also need to understand the pain points and the challenges because what I do is I take all that information. I share it with our researchers. I share it with President [James] Bullard to help them inform monetary policy.” Briggs background as a storyteller is strengthened by her former media credentials. After growing up as a self-proclaimed “Air Force brat,” the Panama-born executive came of age in middle America. She graduated from Williams Woods College in Fulton, Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and communications, earned an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, and worked in Des Moines, Iowa for an NBC affiliate. “I was really in the thick of rural America. I was doing stories on seed corn, feed corn, soybean reporting. Gradually, I came out and started doing general reporting, health reporting and political reporting. So I do feel that it has brought me full circle into storytelling, which is what I do here,” Briggs said. The Federal Reserve Bank has two primary goals: stable prices and maximum employment. Briggs hopes that the information she’s helping provide and the relationships she’s developing will advance those objectives. “My goal is to help maximize the quality of participation for the economy of this state. When I’m talking and listening to people, that’s something that I’m really hearing about a lot – is there are a lot of jobs and we really need to help with that job growth. However I can do that and talking to people, understanding, and I’m a convener. If I can get leaders at the Fed or leaders within the state to work together and help with that job growth, I’m excited to do that. I’m a convener, I’m a connector, and I’m a storyteller. That’s really my role,” she said. You can watch Briggs’ full interview in the video below. Read More…

Who Is Afraid Of Donald Trump? https://digitalarkansasnews.com/who-is-afraid-of-donald-trump/ When reading about United States politics, the reader should remember that the Democrats are the brainy party, but they are too brainy for their own good. While the Republicans are the stupid party, their economic policies place the prosperity of their people first. I have chosen sources from remote states in the mid-west to show that Democrats have not succeeded in fooling the common people away from Washington, D.C. Todays’ Orange County Register (21st September) in Southern California recounts the Democrats worst nightmare. After interviewing Democratic officials and voters who had supported President Joe Biden in 2020, a New York Times report found that Democrats from coast to coast were disappointed, worried, and fretting about Biden’s leadership and ability to handle a Trump candidacy in 2024. Their worst nightmare was that Donald Trump would run again for the presidency in 2024. Biden’s mishandling of the economy and immigration is discussed below. Democrats were terrified that despite Trump’s character flaws, his economic policies had been a resounding success. With nothing to offer, the Orange County Register revealed that the Democrats secret plan was to concoct, by any means necessary, shenanigans which would find Trump in a jailhouse. The plan starts with a kangaroo inquiry into 2020 January 6 demonstration in Washington, D.C. A politically motivated grand jury has been empowered to indict as many as possible of the Trump supporters to put the fear of God into them. Of course, the Democrats have made this “insurrection stuff” all up. The Democrats have fooled no one. The Orange County Register mocks the Democrats and their mouthpiece, the New York Times. “It’s generous of the Times to invite all of us into the Democratic Party’s strategy sessions. Now we know, not that we didn’t, that the one-sided “investigation” into the former president’s thoughts, words and actions on January 6 is just a desperate attempt to do what every investigation so far has utterly failed to do, which is find Donald Trump guilty of something, anything, to prevent the American people from having the opportunity to put him back in office.” But Democrats will stop at nothing to achieve their aim, which is to stop Trump from running for the presidency. The West Fargo News (way in the US heartland) has not been fooled either. On August 8th, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) disconnected surveillance cameras at Trump’s compound in the wee hours of morning and invaded the premises. The West Fargo News says the following words.  “The Democrats and the Deep State are desperate to eliminate Trump from running in 2024. It is very clear that the FBI has been weaponised by the current administration to go after anyone who disagrees with their positions and policies, even a former president. Fear is the agent of oppression in Russia, China, and other despots’ countries, not America.” The intimidation of Trump supporters is thickening. Mike Lindell, a self-made pillow manufacturer, stopped by a Hardees Burger outlet on his way home from his factory in Minnesota. FBI agents blocked his car and took away his cell phone which monitors his hearing aid. Elsewhere, in New York, Trump’s two sons have been indicted. Four of Lindell’s buyers have “unfriended” him after they had a pow wow with FBI agents. The 73-year-old Allen Weiselberg, Trump’s Chief Financial Officer for thirty years has been found guilty of some financial malfeasance involving his handling of Trump’s taxes. Why Democrats are afraid. Biden gave a speech entitled the “Soul of America” which was patterned after former Democrat president Jimmy Carter’s speech entitled “The crisis of confidence, 1979.” In 1979 as in 2020, Democrats interfered with the supply of oil. The fall of the Shah of Iran’s caused havoc to the oil supply lines in 1979. In 2020 Biden’s first action in office was to discontinue the Canadian oil pipeline. Both actions caused havoc with interest rates (21% in 1979) and oil prices. Biden said in his speech. “People are down, down (sic) The need for mental health in America, it has really skyrocketed, because people have seen everything upset. Everything they counted on, upset.” Biden’s speech is nonsensical unless it is re-interpreted. He meant to say that Americans feel depressed because of the high inflation and the intellectual developments which they must now cope with. Americans somehow feel let down. Biden suffers from malapropism. In less than a year since Biden assumed power, petrol prices rose from U$2 per gallon to U$6 per gallon. The schools struggled to keep abreast of Critical Race Theory, (CRT) a fashionable intellectual idiom that had been taught in the universities for three decades. CRT says white institutions are racist and it does not matter what or how the individual white person may behave, the result is toxic to blacks. Thirdly, there is a new-fangled idea by intellectual prostitutes who argue that gender is optional and should not be assigned at birth. US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown refused to answer a simple question. What is the difference between a man and a woman? A woman has the capacity to carry a fetus within her body, you sluggard! Fourthly, two million unregistered immigrants have been crossed the Southern border in one year alone. A country without borders is no country at all. Carter told the American people in 1979 that, “I want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy.” Democrats have learned nothing from the past, forgotten nothing and remembered nothing. Petrol is the lifeline of the US. Any mismanagement of petrol (and inflation) is a threat to Democracy, you sluggard. Biden like Carter spoke about “growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives” and “the erosion of our confidence in the future threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.”  Like Carter Biden blames oil producing countries for inflation and loss of the American spirit. Kenneth Mufuka is a Zimbabwean patriot. He writes from the US. He can be reached at mufukaken@gmail.com Read More Here

Schiff Says Any Criminal Referral For Trump By The January 6 Committee Should Be Decided Unanimously | CNN Politics https://digitalarkansasnews.com/schiff-says-any-criminal-referral-for-trump-by-the-january-6-committee-should-be-decided-unanimously-cnn-politics/ 05:04 – Source: CNN Exclusive: Trump’s secret court fight to stop January 6 grand jury from getting information from his inner circle. CNN  —  US Rep. Adam Schiff, who serves on the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection, says that if the panel makes a criminal referral for former President Donald Trump related to the riot at the US Capitol, it should be made unanimously. “We operate with a high degree of consensus and unanimity,” the California Democrat told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday. “It will be certainly, I think, my recommendation, my feeling, that we should make referrals, but we will get to a decision as a committee, and we will all abide by that decision, and I will join our committee members if they feel differently.” CNN reported earlier this year that although the bipartisan committee was in wide agreement that Trump committed a crime when he pushed a conspiracy to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election, panelists were split over what to do about it, including whether to make a criminal referral of Trump to the Justice Department, according to four sources connected to the committee. The internal debate spilled into plain view in June when the committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, repeatedly told a group of reporters at the Capitol that the panel would not be issuing any criminal referrals, a declaration that several of his fellow committee members were quick to push back on. Schiff said Sunday he wouldn’t disclose information about the focus of the select committee’s public hearing Wednesday, which will likely be its last until the panel releases its final report. “I think it’ll be potentially more sweeping than some of the other hearings, but it too will be in a very thematic – it will tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election,” he said. Rep. Jamie Raskin, another January 6 paneliist, said Sunday that the upcoming public hearing would share “details” learned by the committee since its last hearing in August. The Maryland Democrat told NBC News that he expects Wednesday’s hearing to be the last presentation of its investigation, but he’s “hopeful” the committee will hold a hearing presenting recommendations to Congress. Raskin added that the goal of Wednesday’s hearing is for panelists to reveal the newest findings in the investigation to supplement the broader narrative they presented in earlier hearings. Schiff, when asked by Tapper about the committee obtaining Secret Service communications related to the riot, said the panel was still going through them. “We are still going through them because they are very voluminous. I will say they’re not a substitute for having the text messages that were apparently erased from those devices, and we are still investigating how that came about and why that came about. And I hope and believe the Justice Department on that issue is also looking at whether laws were broken and the destruction of that evidence,” Schiff said. “But we do have a mountain of information that we need to go through.” Thompson said earlier this month that the communications turned over to the January 6 committee included “a combination of a number of text messages, radio traffic, that kind of thing. Just thousands of exhibits.” He added that the texts that were handed over were “primarily” from the day before and during the riot. Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, added his voice Sunday to a growing group of lawmakers pushing back on Trump’s claim that he could simply declassify classified documents by “thinking about it.” “No, that’s not how it works. Those comments don’t demonstrate much intelligence of any kind,” he told Tapper. “If you could simply declassify by thinking about it, then frankly, if that’s his view, he’s even more dangerous than we may have thought.” He continued: “With that view, he could simply spout off on anything he read in a Presidential Daily Brief or anything he was briefed on by the CIA director to a visiting Russian delegation or any other delegation and simply say, ‘Well, I thought about it and therefore, when the words came out of my mouth, they were declassified.’” Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Republican in the chamber, also rejected Trump’s claim on Sunday, telling ABC News that he doesn’t “think a president can declassify documents by saying so.” Read More Here

New Poll Finds 56% Of Democrats Want A Nominee Other Than Biden In 2024; Do Republicans Want Trump To Run? https://digitalarkansasnews.com/new-poll-finds-56-of-democrats-want-a-nominee-other-than-biden-in-2024-do-republicans-want-trump-to-run/ A new poll finds that a clear majority of Democrats would prefer another presidential nominee in 2024, other than President Joe Biden. What Happened: The latest poll from ABC News/Washington Post finds that 56% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents would prefer another candidate other than Biden in 2024. Only 35% said they want to see the president run for re-election. Biden’s overall approval rating was 39%, with 54% of those polled indicating their disapproval of his performance. The numbers were slightly more negative in evaluating his management of the economy, with 36% approving and 57% disapproving. When it comes to the potential of Donald Trump running for president in 2024, the poll found that Republicans and GOP-leaning independents are evenly divided on having him as their nominee. The results found 47% supporting Trump as their candidate, while 46% said they would prefer another Republican representing the party in 2024. ABC conducted additional polling on a Biden-Trump race in 2024, finding that 48% of respondents would vote for Biden and 46% would support Trump. Although, the results for registered voters found that 48% backed Trump, while 46% chose Biden, showing a virtual tie in a potential face-off. Also Read: ‘I Made Him’: Trump Calls DeSantis ‘Ungrateful,’ Wonders ‘Why He Doesn’t Appreciate Me More’  What About the Mid-Terms: Focusing on the November elections, the survey found that the outcome will likely reflect the typical midterm losses for the president’s party. Among registered voters, 47% of Republicans are supporting their local House district candidate, while 46% of Democrats back their local congressional candidate. The survey sampled 1,006 U.S. adults, including 908 registered voters, between Sept. 18 and Sept. 21. Photo: Courtesy of Gage Skidmore on flickr © 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Healthy Gunn Makes Big Impact For UAFS; Lady Lions Celebrate Title IX Milestone https://digitalarkansasnews.com/healthy-gunn-makes-big-impact-for-uafs-lady-lions-celebrate-title-ix-milestone/ Caelyn Gunn (left) of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith passes, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, during the first set of the Lady Lions†3-2 loss to Oklahoma Christian at the UAFS Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith. Visit nwaonline.com/220925Daily/ for today’s photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton) FORT SMITH — It’s no surprise to University of Arkansas-Fort Smith volleyball coach Jane Sargent that Caelyn Gunn is making a huge impact as a true freshman. Despite the early success, it hasn’t been an easy path for Gunn. She missed the initial eight games of the season because of a preseason injury. She has bounced back from that to showcase her talents in a big way. It was never more evident when UAFS hosted its home opener Wednesday. Gunn filled the stat sheet, leading the Lady Lions with a career-high 18 kills. She also had 13 digs, three assists, a block and an ace. “She is a very talented freshman, and we knew that from recruiting her,” Sargent said. “We knew she would put up some big numbers. She has done a great job working herself back into the starting lineup. She’s done some good things and doesn’t look like a freshman out there.” Through the first 14 games of the season, Gunn is fifth on the team in kills with 66 despite playing in just six matches. She is second on the team in kills per set with 2.75, just behind team leader Reagan Macha, who has 2.76. In her first game back from injury, Gunn had a team-high 13 kills with a .393 hitting percentage. She hasn’t looked back since. “I’m just now finding my groove,” Gunn said. “Being hurt was very unfortunate. I’ve had several setbacks in my volleyball career with injuries. It was frustrating at first. But my priority was to get back healthy and be the teammate my team needed me to be to be able to perform for them.” Gunn is already drawing rave reviews from teammates who have been impressed with her abilities. It’s one thing to play well, and it’s another to earn the trust and admiration from those around you. That’s been the case for Gunn. Junior setter Chloe Price, who leads the team with more than 560 assists, has leaned on Gunn early and often to help score for the Lady Lions since making it back from injury. “Caelyn is just a consistent player that makes sure everyone is involved with a lot of talking,” Price said. “She is a glue player for this team already. She is putting in the work and getting it done. She has surprised me as a Read More Here

Odds & Ends: News/Humor (With A “Who Lost The Trump/Putin Week?” Poll) https://digitalarkansasnews.com/odds-ends-news-humor-with-a-who-lost-the-trump-putin-week-poll/ You tell ’em, Maynard G. Krebs I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in Cheers & Jeers. OK, you’ve been warned – here is this week’s tomfoolery material that I posted. CHEERS to Bill and Michael in PWM, our Laramie, Wyoming-based friend Irish Patti and …… well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend …. and week ahead. ART NOTES — an exhibition entitled Goya-Chagoya — matching drawings by the legendary Spanish artist Goya with modern re-interpretations by the Mexican-born Enrique Chagoya — will be at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri to February 12th. Enrique Chagoya (born 1953) YOUR WEEKEND READ is this essay by David Dayen (Dday) on Lisa Epstein — an oncology nurse who fell victim to foreclosure fraud during the collapse of the housing bubble — and how her subsequent activism helped lead to a judgement against a fuel card company with hidden fees … without notifying customers. THURSDAY’s CHILD is named Lilly the Cat — a suburban New York kitteh who went missing, but came home a week later: letting her family know she had returned by … activating the doorbell camera (that she knew about).             Lilly the Cat IN RESPONSE to complaints from city residents (about noise from early morning trucks and the disruption caused by squads of deliverers on electric bicycles and scooters) France has is trying to crack-down on so-called dark stores — city-center food depots used only for instant home deliveries ordered over the internet — which have replaced actual stores (where people could shop). FRIDAY’s CHILD is named Capone the Cat — a NYC stray who settled into a garbage pile, afraid to move and barely eating — but became an instant lap cat when rescued, and has now been adopted.   Capone the Rescued Cat BRAIN TEASER — try this Quiz of the Week’s News from the BBC …… and the usually easier, less UK-centered New York Times quiz. THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at cat cafés — why they started in east Asia and how they function today in the West. THIS WEEK’s POLL is a Trump/Putin World edition … next week will revert back to a more standard Who Lost the Fortnight? edition. FATHER-SON? — NFL Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway and a soon-to-be University of Texas quarterback (and already being compared to Elway by some) — Arch Manning (in reality, the nephew of Peyton Manning, who played in Denver for team president Elway).     John Elway (born 1960)   Arch Manning (born 2004) …… and finally, for a song of the week ………………………… no time for a full profile: instead, a short hymn sung by one of my favorite veteran musicians: Steve Winwood (of Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith and solo fame). During the height of the pandemic, he downloaded free videos of himself and other musicians (working remotely) on some of his catalogue — here, for instance, is such a rendition of his first big hit in the USA — Gimme Some Lovin’ (from 1966 with the Spencer Davis Group) which you can hear at this link. Just recently, I heard a solo tune he recorded (in that difficult time) outdoors on his own property in August, 2020. Now the Green Blade Riseth is a British hymn for Easter (about the Resurrection, using springtime as an analogy) — often sung at funerals — set to the music of the French Christmas carol Noël Nouvelet. So it may seem oddly timed here, not to mention a departure from his normal work. But it’s Steve Winwood … so of course  he’ll make it work. Now the green blade riseth, from the buried grain, Wheat that in dark earth many days has lain Love lives again, that with the dead has been Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain Thy touch can call us back to life again Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green Poll 6 votes Show Results Who Lost the Week in Trump/Putin World? Donald Trump, the focus of a NY State civil suit for falsifying loan and tax records, with the attorney general referring to the scheme as the Art of the Steal The Trump adult children, also named (as part of the Trump Organization) as part of the NY State civil suit for their involvement in a massive fraud scheme Doug Jensen, the Des Moines man seen at the front of the pack of rioters inside the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, found guilty of all seven charges against him Donald Trump, as E. Jean Carroll, the writer who claims she was raped by Donald Trump decades ago in New York, is now planning to sue him for sexual battery under the state’s newly enacted “Adult survivors” law later this year Trump judge Aileen Cannon, whose ruling granting Trump not only a special master but also delaying the examination of top-secret documents as he wanted – having the 11th Circuit unanimously overturn parts of her ruling: in one day Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a Jan 6th rioter who held a security clearance (and has dressed up as Adolf Hitler), sentenced to four years by a Trump judge who found his claim that he didn’t know Congress met at the Capitol … to be laughable Donald Trump, as his hand-picked special master (Raymond Dearie) is ordering his attorneys to present (in court) what their client has emphatically stated (on conservative media) where there is no sworn testimony State party leader Kelli Ward (R-AZ), whose lawsuit to block a subpoena issued by the January 6th committee (to obtain her phone records) was dismissed by a judge, as Ward organized a slate of fake electors in the 2020 election Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), hit with two lawsuits over his scheme to dishonestly lure migrants from Texas onto flights to liberal enclaves: one on civil rights grounds, another on using Florida taxpayer money to fund the scheme Donald Trump, on general principles Vladimir Putin, whose war effort is going so badly he has threatened to clamp down on international travel in order to prevent potential conscripts from fleeing Russia, afraid of its largest mobilization since WW-II Multiple names listed – or a write-in – either way, please elaborate in a comment 6 votes Vote Now! Who Lost the Week in Trump/Putin World? Donald Trump, the focus of a NY State civil suit for falsifying loan and tax records, with the attorney general referring to the scheme as the Art of the Steal The Trump adult children, also named (as part of the Trump Organization) as part of the NY State civil suit for their involvement in a massive fraud scheme Doug Jensen, the Des Moines man seen at the front of the pack of rioters inside the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, found guilty of all seven charges against him Donald Trump, as E. Jean Carroll, the writer who claims she was raped by Donald Trump decades ago in New York, is now planning to sue him for sexual battery under the state’s newly enacted “Adult survivors” law later this year Trump judge Aileen Cannon, whose ruling granting Trump not only a special master but also delaying the examination of top-secret documents as he wanted – having the 11th Circuit unanimously overturn parts of her ruling: in one day Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a Jan 6th rioter who held a security clearance (and has dressed up as Adolf Hitler), sentenced to four years by a Trump judge who found his claim that he didn’t know Congress met at the Capitol … to be laughable Donald Trump, as his hand-picked special master (Raymond Dearie) is ordering his attorneys to present (in court) what their client has emphatically stated (on conservative media) where there is no sworn testimony State party leader Kelli Ward (R-AZ), whose lawsuit to block a subpoena issued by the January 6th committee (to obtain her phone records) was dismissed by a judge, as Ward organized a slate of fake electors in the 2020 election Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), hit with two lawsuits over his scheme to dishonestly lure migrants from Texas onto flights to liberal enclaves: one on civil rights grounds, another on using Florida taxpayer money to fund the scheme Donald Trump, on general principles Vladimir Putin, whose war effort is going so badly he has threatened to clamp down on international travel in order to prevent potential conscripts from fleeing Russia, afraid of its largest mobilization since WW-II Multiple names listed – or a write-in – either way, please elaborate in a comment Read More Here

Five Things Republicans Would Do In A House Majority https://digitalarkansasnews.com/five-things-republicans-would-do-in-a-house-majority/ MONONGAHELA, Pa. (The Hill) — The sprint to Election Day is fully underway, but House Republicans are looking past November and eyeing what they’ll do in the likely event of winning a majority in the upper chamber. They’ve hinted at parts of their agenda for months, but this week Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other members of House GOP leadership formally unveiled a package of proposed policy and messaging priorities for the next Congress. McCarthy was joined by more than two dozen House GOP colleagues, with ideologies ranging from firebrand Freedom Caucus Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to moderate Republican Governance Group Chairman David Joyce (R-Ohio), at the rollout event at warehouse for an HVAC company about 45 minutes outside Pittsburgh. Members answered friendly questions from some in the audience of around 150 parents, business owners, law enforcement officials and activists — with many news cameras and reporters watching.  Dubbed the “Commitment to America,” much of the written plan is vague, vowing to “curb wasteful government spending” and making a passing reference to abortion by saying the GOP will “protect the lives of unborn children and their mothers.” But the plan broadly lays out Republican priorities less than seven weeks before voters go to the polls. Republicans have also proposed some specifics and say other details would be worked out in committees. Republicans need a net gain of just six seats to win control of the House in the Nov. 8 midterm elections, an outcome election analysts say is likely.  Here are five things Republicans say they would do with that control: Take aim at the IRS House Republicans’ first bill, McCarthy announced at Friday’s rollout event, will aim to reverse the portion of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law this summer, that provides $80 billion to the IRS and significantly boosts staff. The additional funds are largely to target high-income earner compliance. “On our very first bill, we’re going to repeal 87,000 IRS agents,” McCarthy said. Republicans have repeatedly, and falsely, claimed the 87,000 new IRS employees, which would be added over the course of a decade, will be “agents” and raised the specter of an enforcement army banging on voters’ doors. In fact, many will work as support staff, auditors and replacements for those who leave the agency. Launch a flood of investigations Perhaps the biggest tool for a GOP-led House with a Democratic president able to veto Republican bills would be the power to direct hearings and demand information and documents. Republicans promise to “conduct rigorous oversight to rein in government abuse of power and corruption” and flaunted that they have already sent more than 500 requests for information and documents. They plan to investigate the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the origins of the COVID-19 virus — with several House Republicans pledging to specifically investigate Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to Biden and longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — and policies on the U.S.-Mexico border. “We will give [Homeland Security] Secretary Mayorkas a reserved parking spot, he will be testifying so much about this,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) also said that he would look into the Department of Justice (DOJ) as chair of the House Judiciary Committee. “The No. 1 thing is this weaponization of the DOJ against the American people,” Jordan said. Those actions could also affect the DOJ’s investigation of former President Trump. After the FBI executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and seized classified documents, Republicans told Attorney General Merrick Garland to preserve his documents. Republicans are also planning to probe the business activities of Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, but lawmakers at the rollout event did not put focus on that. Wade into school culture war issues McCarthy’s plan calls to “defend fairness by ensuring that only women can compete in women’s sports,” and he has specifically said he would bring up the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. That bill would to define sex “solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth” for purposes of Title IX in athletics. Support for the legislation ticked up as coverage of transgender athletes succeeding in women’s sports competitions, such as former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, increased. Republicans also promise to “advance the Parents’ Bill of Rights,” legislation that was released last year in part as a response to frustrations about “woke” curriculum and COVID-19–related school closures that spilled over into heated school board meetings. The bill would require school districts to post curriculum publicly, have teachers offer two in-person meetings with parents a year, have parents give consent before any medical exam at school and provide notice of any violence at school. It is unlikely that either bill could pass in the Senate, or that Biden would sign it. Push domestic energy and gas production Republicans put a large focus on increasing domestic energy as a means of lowering fuel prices and increasing the number of well-paying jobs. The platform calls to “cut the permitting process time in half to reduce reliance on foreign countries.” House Republicans unveiled an energy and climate strategy earlier this year that promotes oil and gas, mining for critical minerals and hydropower. If a GOP bill on climate makes it to Biden’s desk and he vetoes it, that would be future campaign fodder for Republicans. “What kind of message does it send if it does get through to his desk and he has to veto it?” Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) told The Hill. “If that’s a choice he wants to make, well then he won’t win another term either.” Scrutinize local crime policies High crime rates have been a major midterm campaign topic, and an NBC News poll released this week found the GOP with a 23-point edge over Democrats when voters were asked who could better handle the issue. Republicans promise to bring up legislation to give recruiting and retention bonuses to police departments in hopes of combating national police staffing shortages. They also plan to probe policies of local district attorneys. “House Republicans will immediately ensure that we hire 200,000 more police officers across this country to make sure that our communities are safe,” said House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (N.Y.). “We will go after the radical leftist prosecutors, DAs, who are refusing to abide by the rule of law, and are prioritizing criminals rather than the law-abiding citizens.” The House passed four bills on Thursday that addressed policing, despite Democratic division. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 10:29 A.m. EDT https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1029-a-m-edt/ Winter’s approach sets clock ticking for Ukraine, Russia KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The onset of autumnal weather in Ukraine is making fields too muddy for tanks and beginning to cloud Ukrainian efforts to take back more Russian-held territory before winter freezes the battlefields. The clock is ticking for both sides. Russia is rushing to call up of hundreds of thousands of men to throw into the seven-month war, seeking to reverse its recent losses. The mobilization is sparking Russian protests, with fresh demonstrations Sunday. It is also opening splits in Europe about whether fighting-age Russian men fleeing in droves should be welcomed or turned away. ‘Multilateral’? Global South’s leaders question solidarity DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The United Nations was established on one simple notion above all others — that working together is better than going it alone. But while the term “multilateralism” might be trending at this year’s U.N. General Assembly, some leaders are calling out the heads of richer nations. Whether it’s the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic or climate change, developing countries say it seems that richer nations are thinking of themselves first and not the world’s most vulnerable. When the United Nations was established in 1945, world leaders hoped it would make sure that something like World War II never happened again. That meant working together. Canada sends troops to help clear Fiona’s devastation TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s military has mobilized to help and officials are trying to assess the scope of devastation of from former Hurricane Fiona. It swept away houses, stripped off roofs and knocked out power across the country’s Atlantic provinces. Fiona hit before dawn Saturday as a post-tropical cyclone, battering Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Quebec at hurricane strength. Defense Minister Anita Anand says troops will help remove fallen trees, restore transportation links and do whatever else is required for as long as it takes. Fiona caused at least five deaths in the Caribbean, but there were no confirmed fatalities or serious injuries in Canada. Tropical Storm Ian strengthens as it heads to Cuba, Florida TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities and residents in Florida are keeping a cautious eye on Tropical Storm Ian as it rumbles through the Caribbean, expected to continue gaining strength and become a major hurricane in the coming days on a forecast track toward the state. Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a statewide emergency, expanding an order from Friday that had covered two dozen counties. He is urging Floridians to prepare for a storm that could lash large swaths of the state. Some residents have begun stocking up on supplies such as water, plywood and generators. President Joe Biden has also declared an emergency for the state. Ceremony and controversy await Harris during visit to Asia WASHINGTON (AP) — Attending funerals on behalf of the United States is normally a straightforward assignment for a vice president. But for Kamala Harris, there’ll be controversy at nearly every turn as she visits Asia for the memorial honoring former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. American allies are seeking clarity after mixed messages over whether President Joe Biden would send troops to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion. There’s the potential for more provocations from North Korea, which test-fired a missile shortly before Harris’ departure from Washington. And there’s resentment over a new U.S. law that makes electric vehicles built outside of North America ineligible for subsidies. Italians vote in election that could take far-right to power ROME (AP) — Italians are voting in a national election coming at a critical time for Europe. Soaring energy bills, largely caused by the war in Ukraine, have households and businesses fearful they can’t keep the heat or lights on this winter. Sunday’s balloting for Italy’s Parliament might yield the nation’s first government led by the far right since the end of World War II. Opinion polls had indicated Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party, with its neo-fascist roots, would be the top vote-getter. Polls opened at 7 a.m. The counting of paper ballots is expected to begin shortly after they close at 11 p.m. (2100 GMT), with projections based on partial results coming early Monday morning. Critics: Oregon’s move to decriminalize hard drugs a failure SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Since Oregon residents voted in 2020 to decriminalize hard drugs and dedicate hundreds of millions of dollars to treatment, few people have requested the services and the state has been slow to channel the funds. Oregon still has among the highest addiction rates in the country. Fatal overdoses have increased almost 20% over the previous year, with over a thousand dead. Steve Allen, behavioral health director of the Oregon Health Authority, acknowledges that Oregon’s experiment has had a rocky start. But he says a milestone has been reached, with more than $302 million being sent to facilities across the state to help people get off drugs. Democrats in Florida seek to win over Latinos on gun control MIAMI (AP) — Democrats in Florida are trying to make inroads with Latino voters by focusing on gun safety. It’s part of an effort to curb the gains made by Republican in Latino-heavy areas as Democrats address gun violence and highlight what they say is the lack of action by Republicans. Few places disappointed Democrats in 2020 as deeply as South Florida. A shift among Latinos toward the GOP contributed to several unexpected losses in House races and helped then-President Donald Trump carry Florida. Democrats are campaigning differently this year as they aim to connect the party’s priorities to the personal experiences of a group that often feels overlooked in national politics. Texas vow to ‘eliminate all rapists’ rings hollow at clinics AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Rape crisis centers in Texas say their caseloads remain high a year after a new abortion law that made no exceptions for rape victims went into effect. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott defended the law in September 2021 by saying that Texas would get to work eliminating rapes. But the constant caseloads in Texas are one example illustrating how Republicans have struggled to defend zero-exception abortion bans that are unpopular in public polling and caused uproar in high-profile cases. The absence of exceptions has caused divisions among Republicans, including in West Virginia, where a new law signed this month allows rape and incest victims to obtain abortions at up to eight weeks of pregnancy but only if they report to law enforcement first. Poverty and inflation: Egypt’s economy hit by global turmoil DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — For decades, millions of Egyptians have depended on the government to keep basic goods affordable. But a series of shocks to the global economy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have endangered the social contract in the Middle East’s most populous country, which is also the world’s biggest importer of wheat. It is now grappling with double-digit inflation and a steep devaluation of its currency, prompting oil-rich Gulf Arab countries to once again step in with financial support as talks with the International Monetary Fund drag on. The possibility of food insecurity has raised concerns. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Read More Here

Philippines On High Alert As ‘explosive’ Super Typhoon Noru Makes Landfall https://digitalarkansasnews.com/philippines-on-high-alert-as-explosive-super-typhoon-noru-makes-landfall/ Emergency officials in the Philippines were on high alert Sunday as a rapidly intensifying tropical storm known as Super Typhoon Noru made landfall off the eastern shore of the capital, Manila, and made its way toward the main island. Weather officials have warned of a potential “extreme threat” to life and property from Noru, also known locally as Super Typhoon Karding. The storm reached “super typhoon category after a period of explosive intensification,” they said. Super typhoons have peak winds of at least 150 mph. Though the storm was expected to weaken into Monday as it crossed over the main island of Luzon, which includes Manila, and made landfall, the officials said it was “highly likely” to “remain a typhoon while crossing the landmass.” As Noru approached the Philippines, its peak winds increased from 60 to 160 mph in 24 hours as it transformed from a tropical storm to the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. This leap was among the fastest 24-hour intensification rates on record for any tropical cyclone. Scientists say human-caused climate change is increasing the potential for such rapid strengthening. In Manila, rescue workers on Sunday were preparing rubber boats and life vests as authorities started evacuating people from coastal areas. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday canceled classes in public schools and closed down non-emergency government buildings in a bid to keep people indoors and out of the storm’s path, his office said on social media. Local services were disrupted and dozens of international and domestic flights were canceled because of the weather, including a United Airlines flight to Guam, authorities said. The U.S. Embassy rescheduled all consular appointments for Monday in Manila. Curtis S. Chin, former U.S. ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, said his thoughts were with those in the Philippines as he shared a visualization of the storm rapidly growing in strength between Saturday and Sunday. The typhoon is forecast to bring large waves, torrential rains and wind gusts of up to about 127 mph to the northern island of Luzon — home to a population of more than 64 million people — over the next 24 hours. “Under these conditions, scattered to widespread flooding and rain-induced landslides are expected, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards as identified in hazard maps and in localities with significant antecedent rainfall,” the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said. At 5:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, the agency said the eye of the storm had made landfall near Burdeos, a municipal area in the Quezon province of Polillo Islands. It forecast “a high to very high risk” of storm surges of about 10 feet or more in the low-lying and exposed coastal areas of northern Quezon, the Polillo Islands and Aurora. It said to expect “heavy to intense with at times torrential rains” through Monday morning over Metro Manila, which includes Quezon City, nearby provinces and the north of Quezon. After crossing Luzon, Noru is forecast to emerge in the South China Sea and regain strength early this week before making a second landfall in central Vietnam. Noru is one of many tropical storms to hit the Philippines this year. The capital and northern provinces are recovering from a cyclone last month that caused floods and landslides and killed three people, according to Reuters. One of the strongest storms ever to hit Canada slammed into Nova Scotia’s coastline on Saturday, leaving much of Nova Scotia and nearly all of Prince Edward Island without power. Former hurricane Fiona is the lowest-pressure land-falling storm on record in Canada, according to the Canadian Hurricane Center, which also reported hurricane-force gusts battering the area. Meanwhile, a tropical storm known as Ian churned through the central Caribbean, a journey that weather experts say could culminate in a collision with Florida on Thursday as a hurricane. Jason Samenow, Matthew Cappucci, Selena Ross and Sydney Page contributed to this report. Read More Here

Suburban School Districts In St. Louis Area More Likely To Ban Books Under New Law https://digitalarkansasnews.com/suburban-school-districts-in-st-louis-area-more-likely-to-ban-books-under-new-law/ ST. LOUIS — The 97 books banned in schools across St. Louis this fall cover topics like anatomy, photography and the Holocaust. There are books that are also popular TV series, including “Game of Thrones,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Walking Dead” and “Watchmen.” And as life imitates art, Kirkwood School District banned a comic book adaptation of George Orwell’s “1984,” the cautionary tale about government mind control. A new state law banning “explicit sexual material” — defined as any visual depiction of sex acts or genitalia, with exceptions for artistic or scientific significance — went into effect at the end of August and applies to both public and private schools. Teachers and librarians have scoured their book lists for any applicable content at the direction of lawyers. But interpretation of the law varies by geography, according to a Post-Dispatch analysis of public records: • Ten school districts in St. Louis city and mostly inner suburbs plan to ignore the law and not change their library collections. University City posted a photo this week of banned books displayed in the middle school library along with a sign reading “We Read Banned Books.” • Four suburban districts — Francis Howell in St. Charles County and Kirkwood, Lindbergh and Rockwood in St. Louis County — each removed more than 12 books from their schools. • Wentzville School District banned one book and pulled 223 others “for further review,” including dozens of art history books and “Children’s Bible Stories.” • Two Jefferson County districts, Fox and Festus, banned no books. A Festus spokesman clarified that materials falling under the law “were never in school libraries in the first place.” The number of book bans nationwide this school year is on track to top last year’s record total, according to the American Library Association. The spike comes amid a culture war over how educators should teach about race, gender and sexuality. “When you dictate what people can read, what people can choose from, that’s the mark of an authoritarian society, not a democratic society,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the association’s office for intellectual freedom. “We really have to question what we intend for the education of our young people.” The local map of banned books tends to align with political leanings, with districts in conservative areas removing more titles. Suburban school boards in St. Charles County and west St. Louis County have also faced repeated book challenges from residents over the last two years. The three books most frequently targeted were “The Handmaid’s Tale” graphic novel, banned in 10 local school districts; “Gender Queer,” banned in seven districts and “Watchmen,” banned in four districts. Half of the 10 books most frequently pulled from classrooms and school libraries feature LGBTQ characters and themes, and several others involve racism. Of the 97 books that have been banned by schools in the St. Louis area, 86 were targeted by just one district. High-profile examples include: • Ritenour School District banned “Maus” by Art Spiegelman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust that depicts Jews as mice and Nazis as cats. When “Maus” was banned earlier this year by a Tennessee school district, the U.S. Holocaust Museum said the book “has played a vital role in educating about the Holocaust through sharing detailed and personal experiences of victims and survivors.” • Lindbergh banned “A Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman,” about the radical political activist and anarchist, along with several volumes in the “Game of Thrones” and “The Walking Dead” series. • In addition to “1984: The Graphic Novel,” Kirkwood banned “Crime and Punishment: A Graphic Novel,” “Annie Leibovitz at Work” about the celebrity photographer, and “The Human Body in Action,” a 1999 textbook with a chapter called “Making Babies.” The ACLU of Missouri issued a statement last month saying school library books are not subject to the new state law because they have “already been screened under nationally well-established standards for selecting material that take into account the entire piece.” But some school leaders said the threat of prosecution requires a conservative approach to culling books. “The unfortunate reality of Senate Bill 775 is that, now in effect, it includes criminal penalties for individual educators. We are not willing to risk those potential consequences and will err on the side of caution on behalf of the individuals who serve our students,” said Kirkwood spokeswoman Steph Deidrick. Table: Books banned most by area school districts The Post-Dispatch contacted 28 area school districts to ask which books, if any, they banned from their shelves. This table shows the most-banned books among the districts that responded. The 28 districts included all those in St. Louis County, as well as St. Louis Public Schools, and the Festus, Fox, Fort Zumwalt, Francis Howell and Wentzville districts. Three districts did not provide data: Fort Zumwalt, Jennings and Webster Groves. Book Num. districts The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel 10 Gender Queer: A Memoir 7 Watchmen 5 Flamer 4 Home After Dark 4 The Sun and Her Flowers 4 The Missouri Library Association denounced the book bans, saying schools need to protect academic freedom for their students and autonomy for their educators. “In choosing to preemptively remove graphic novels from your collection, you are sending the message to your students that you support (the law’s) intent, which is to chill access to information, art, and culturally relevant materials in your collection,” reads a Sept. 9 letter from the association to Rockwood administrators. “We ask you as leaders in your district to have courage in the face of this law, to support your staff and your students, and to stand with us against censorship.” The bill’s sponsor state Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, tweeted this month that he is “proud to have banned these books in school libraries. It’s sick that people think this is appropriate for school age children.” Students react to book bans No private schools have reported pulling books in response to the law. High school students in an AP Literature course at Crossroads College Prep in St. Louis described the book bans as patronizing, insulting and disturbing. “Banning these books weaves another layer onto this blanket of ignorance,” said Tré Humphries, 17. In a recent class, Crossroads students discussed “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison and other books that have been banned. English teacher and co-head of school Sarah Pierson Wolff said a lawyer for Crossroads has advised administrators about the new state law, but that no books have been removed. “The idea of trying to limit what people have access to is something we are fighting against,” Wolff said. “For somebody to say a book is dangerous is scary.” Book bans are also known to backfire, inspiring students to seek out books that otherwise would sit untouched on the library shelf. “The fact is, if you’re an enterprising teenager and you want a copy of ‘Gender Queer’ you’re going to get it,” said Linda Johnson, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library in New York. “Either the elected officials or parents or school administrators are naïve or there’s something else at play.” In April, the library launched Books Unbanned, offering free online access to its entire collection for 13- to 21-year-olds. There have been spikes in demand from students living in school districts that banned titles, Johnson said. Families in Wentzville, where the school district is being sued over book bans, will partner with the ACLU to host a “students’ rights” strategy session on Oct. 2 at the local library. “It’s important for students to learn how to advocate for themselves,” said Zebrina Looney, whose four children attended Wentzville schools. “They’re the ones going off to college and potentially not equipped with the knowledge that their counterparts had.” Graphic novels targeted Jerry Craft hated reading as a kid and thinks it’s because the African American protagonists were either enslaved, imprisoned or fighting for civil rights. “As a 12-year-old, why couldn’t I have a Harry Potter?” Craft said. “I write the books I wish I had when I was a kid. Kids just want to be seen.” When Craft heard his book “New Kid” had been challenged by parents in Texas because of “critical race theory,” he had to Google the term. The Newbery Award-winning graphic novel is about a Black boy who experiences culture shock when he transfers to a private school. “My goal was to tell a story that was loosely based on my life and the lives of my two sons and the lives of a bunch of my friends,” said Craft, who spoke about banned comic books Thursday at St. Louis Central Library. “One of the things that most people don’t do is actually read the book or ask a kid what they think of the book. That’s one of the biggest problems — the kids are often an afterthought.” Teachers say graphic novels are valuable tools for engaging reluctant readers, English learners and those with learning disabilities. The visuals combined with text can lead to deeper understanding and analysis of a book. But there is a general misunderstanding of the term graphic novel, which refers to the comic-strip illustrated format of the books and not the content, said Jeff Trexler, interim director of the New York-based Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Federal lawmakers on Thursday marked Banned Books Week by introducing resolutions condemning school book bans, calling them unconstitutional. “The general tragedy of banning books in schools is they are protected classes against discrimination,” Trexl...